Never Underestimate a Half-Blood: The Lightning Thief
by Fantastical394
Summary: Percy has always been different, and now he knows why. He is a demigod. Now he, The son of Poseidon, Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, and Ariana, an unclaimed demigod must work together to defeat Kronos and fulfill the Great Prophecy. Book 1 of a Series.
1. Why Does the Universe Hate Me?

**Here is is the first chapter, so buckle up. This is going to be a LLLLOOONNNGGG one, all the way through the PJO and HoO books. Please give this story a chance. I accept criticism and reviews. Please tell me what you think, give me your ideas. I do not however, accept flames. No. I blow them out.**

 **Disclaimer: Read this story. Tell me, do you think I'm Rick Riordan? Huh. Thoug not. Everything accept for my upcoming OC belongs to him.**

 **Percy I**

Why does the universe hate me?

Okay, okay. You may be thinking 'Wow. This guy is a total drama queen.' But trust me! I'm not! The universe just hates me.

In fifth grade, I managed to blow up my school bus with a revolutionary war cannon. In second grade a man with one eye stalked me on the playground like a creep

Trouble seemed drawn to me.

Now, let's restart. My name is Percy Jackson. I am just a normal twelve year-old guy. Well, if you count being ADHD and Dyslexic as normal. I'm in the sixth grade at Yancy Academy, which, by the sound of the name, is an obnoxious, rich, preppy school.

I might be in sixth grade, but this is my first year at Yancy. Somehow, I have managed to get kicked out of every single school I have ever been to, for one reason or another. Trouble and danger seem to follow me. Bad things seem to seek me out.

I have no idea why.

But, things were different this year. There was only a month left of school, and I hadn't got kicked out yet. I know, it's a miracle! This year had been pretty good, well, as good as it can go when you hate everything about school. You see, with ADHD and Dyslexia, not only can you not focus, but when you do, the majority of the time you can't even read what you're supposed to be focused on. Needless to say, I was terrible in school.

And boy, did my teachers know it.

Each of them made it their mission to call on me all of the time. They seemed to stare daggers at me during every test. Every pop quiz seemed to be directed right at me, as if the teachers were saying 'Hey Percy! We all see that your an idiot, and we just want another excuse to exploit it!'

That was especially true when it came too Mrs. Dodds, the math teacher. She was evil, pure evil, like some..some..some uh, mythological demon. Yeah. Mythological demon. I could feel her beady little eyes burning into my scalp every day. And she called me Perseus.

I hated it when people called me by my full name.

The only teacher I liked was Mr. Brunner. He was the Latin teacher. He was the only teacher that understood my problems, and tried to help me. It also didn't hurt that he occasionally brought in swords and battle armor. But, he expected big things out of me, even though he knew I couldn't do it. He was always saying things like "You must learn these things if you are to be the one." or "These skills will help you conquer many a foe Percy Jackson."

Who says things like that?

Well, as I was saying, this had been a relatively good year. No strange or dangerous things had happened, which was shocking. For the first time, I thought I was going to graduate, and not get expelled first.

My friend Grover, a tall, skinny boy with the scruff of a high schooler, but the face of middle schooler, told me that I could do it. He had a weird limp and had to use crutches, which the other kids saw as an opportunity to make fun of him. I was the only who stood up for him. I was his only friend. Therefor, he was my only friend.

Anyway, my sixth grade class was taking a field trip to Metropolitan Museum of Art to learn about Roman and Greek mythology. Admittedly, I found those kinds of things fascinating. But, even so, I still had ADHD. I couldn't just stand there and stare at something. I had to be moving in some way.

After what seemed like hours of staring at the same armless statues, (Seriously? Why don't they have arms. I just don't get art. At all.) it was time for lunch.

My twenty seven classmates and I ate our packed lunches on the main steps of the museum, next to a large fountain. Grover and I sat on the fountain's edge while Nancy Bobofit and her gang of ugly brutes threw bits of PB and J at Grover's curly hair. They were seriously starting to piss me off. Grover tried to calm me down, but I couldn't. They were bullies. I hated bullies.

Suddenly, Nancy came right up to us and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap. "Oops!" She snickered. That's it, I thought. This girl was going down.

Next thing I know, a splash of water hit me, and I turned to see Nancy Bobofit sitting in the fountain, a wild look in her eyes. I tried my hardest to control my laughter at her face. It was priceless. Suddenly, I felt a cold hand on my shoulder.

I didn't even need to turn to see who it was. I could feel her eyes burning through my brain.

"Perseus Jackson." Mrs. Dodds hissed in a cold tone.

"He pushed me Mrs. Dodds! I was just there and, and Percy pushed me in the fountain!" Nancy began to sputter wildly as two of her goons pulled her out of the water. I clenched my fist. I didn't push her, and she knew it. But who was Mrs. Dodds going to believe? Nancy or me?

It didn't matter who I was up against. Mrs. Dodds would never side with me.

The cold hand left my shoulder and grabbed my wrist. Then, Mrs. Dodds began to drag me towards the museum, and I knew I was in for it this time. I looked around wildly. I looked over to Me. Brunner, the other chaperone of the trip, to see if he could help, but he was to engrossed in whatever book he was reading to notice. Not so gently, my math teacher dragged me towards the Greek and Roman section of the museum. With the exception of us, the gallery was empty. I knew someone bad was going to happen.

"You've been giving us problems honey. Did you honestly think you could get away with it?" Her eyes were full of hatred. She pulled at the cuffs of her leather jacket, which I just realized she was wearing. It was an odd fashion statement for such an old woman, and normally I would have laughed. But this was no time to laugh. I was terrified.

"I-I'll try harder ma'am." I squeaked. I don't know why, but this woman left me terrified.

"We are not fools, Perseues Jackson. It was only a matter of time before we found you. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."

What the hell? What was she talking about? Had they discovered just how many tests I cheated on, or how many reports I had plagiarized? Were they going to punish me for that? Was that what she was talking about?

"Well?" She hissed.

"I don't, um, I uh….."

"Your time is up."

Then, it hit the fan. Her beady eyes began a to glow. Her fingers stretched and morphed into strange shapes. Talons. Her oversized leather jacket melted into a pair of leathery bat wings. I stared at the creature in disgust. My math teacher truly was a demon.

Suddenly a man yelled "What ho!" from the doorway. I turned to see Mr. Brunner sitting in the doorway, a ballpoint pen in his hand. He tossed the pen at me, and I caught it with ease, but after it hit my hand, it morphed into something else. A sword. The same sword that Mr. Brunner had always brought to class.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the sword in my hands. What the hell was going on? Did someone slip something in my water bottle? Then, all of the sudden, Mrs. Dodds lunged at me. Being the smart kid I was, I did what seemed like the natural gong to do. I swung the sword.

As soon as the bronze blade touched the creature's skin, the entire monster crumpled into a pile of sand at my feet. Just like that, the horrible monster was gone. I looked around, and Mr. Brunner was gone. I was alone. In my hands was a normal ballpoint pen.

After a few minutes of pure shock, I went back outside, trying to convince myself that it was all a dream. Someone had put some magic mushrooms in my food. My drink had been spiked. Anything to explain what I just saw. Because, there was no way that it was real.

Right?

Everything was just how I had left it, except now it was raining. Nancy Bobofit was standing with her friends, still soaked. Grover was still by the fountain, a museum map covering his head. His face was etched with worry and he was nervously eating an apple. When he saw me, he seemed to relax a little bit. I sat down next to him and released a breath that I hadn't realized that I had been holding.

"I bet Mrs. Kerr whooped your butt." Nancy sneered as I walked past her. Her red hair was wet, plastered all over her freckley face.

"Who?" I looked at her, very confused. What was she talking about?

"Our teacher, idiot." She rolled her eyes and walked away to join her friends, stepping in a puddle, attempting to splash me while she went.

I turned to Grover and asked him where Mrs. Dodds was.

"Who?" His voice seemed strained and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was lying.

I then saw Mr. Brunner near the steps, reading his novel, as if he had never moved. I went over to him to see if he could give me any answer.

He looked up when he heard me coming. His face was relieved, but I didn't know why, u til I followed his gaze towards the penalty in my hands, which I didn't realize I was still holding. "Ah, my pen! Bring your own next time Percy." He snatched the pen right out of my hands. I willingly let him take it. I had bigger things on my mind,

"Where's Mrs. Dodds, the other chaperone, the math teacher?" I asked seriously.

Are you feeling alright?"

"Uh, yeah." I stuttered. "I feel fine." To be honest, I didn't feel fine. I was dizzy, confused, and had absolutely no clue what was going on. "Why?"

He looked at me concerned before he spoke again. "The math teacher is Mrs. Kerr, and, as far as I know, there is no record of a Mrs. Dodds ever working at Yancy."

Again I say. Why does the universe hate me?

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Exams suck.

They just suck. Period.

It didn't help that nobody had any idea about any teacher named Mrs. Dodds. They acted as if Mrs. Kerr had been there the entire year. I knew something was up because Grover kept avoiding talking to me. He was always quiet, muttering things to himself in some random language that I had no idea he could speak. And, he kept sneaking out of our room in the middle of the night to go off who knows where. It was all very shifty.

Now back to the exams. Obviously, I was not a very good student. At my best I got C-s on most things. This year, well, was not my best. The only class I had a shot at getting higher than a D in was Latin. And that was because I figured Mr. Brunner would maybe take pity on me. Turns out, I was wrong,

My highest grade was a D+.

That was in P.E.

Needless to say, I was not asked to return to Yancy academy for seventh grade.

The last night before summer break, I decided to go talk to Mr. Brunner. He was the one thing I would miss about this place, and I wanted to talk to him. I wanted to ask him why he expected so much of me. Why did he try so hard with me? Maybe he could even speak to me about he events that took place the day of the field trip.

I took a deep breath, and walked out of my dorm room. Grover was gone, probably in the library. He liked to spend his time there. I walked downstairs to where all the teachers' offices are. Only one of them had someone in it. Mr. Brunner's. I could see light flooding out of the door to his office, which stood ajar.

I was only a few feet away when I heard voices from inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question in a muffled tone, so I couldn't understand it.

"...worried about Percy sir." The other voice answered. It was Grover's.

What?

I usually didn't eavesdrop, but it is almost impossible not to when you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult. I kept listening.

"...alone this summer." Grover said, his voice racked with worry. "I mean, there was a Kindly one at the SCHOOL! Now that we know for sure, and they no for sure….."

"We would only make it worse if we went to fast." Mr. Brunner cut him off sharply. "We need to give him time."

"But sir, he saw…."

"In his imagination." He insisted. "The Mist is strong enough to convince him and others of that."

"But Sir! I cannot fail again." Grover whined. His voice sounded stressed. "You know what would happen."

"You have not failed, Mr. Underwood." Mr. Bruner said in a calming tone. "I should have known first. Now, let's focus all of our attention on keeping Percy alive until next fall."

I sucked in a breath, a little too loudly. Mr. Bruner went silent. I heard someone stand up. Crap!

I turned quickly and ran into the nearest office. Surprisingly, it wasn't locked. I shut the door quickly. I leaned against the door and listened. I heard a soft clop-clop-clop outside of the door, a sound that seemed suspiciously like horse hooves. What?

"Nothing. Huh. My senses haven't been right since…." Mr. Brunner trailed off, his voice coming from somewhere in the hall.

"Mine neither. But.. I, I couldh are sworn." Grover mumbled.

"Go back to the dorm. You have a long summer ahead of you Grover." Mr. Brunenr said solemnly.

"Please, don't remind me." Grover grumbled as I heard his feet carrying him away.

I sat there in the dark for what seemed like forever until finally, I crept out of the office and back to the dorm. There I found Grover dead asleep on his bed.

Maybe I had just made up that whole conversation? I tried to convince myself.

I wasn't doing a very good job.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The next day was…..awkward to say the least. I listened to the other kids talking about their summer plans at their beach houses in Malibu and Yachts in the Carribean. When they asked me about my plans, I told them I was going back to the city.

Not so accidentally, I didn't tell them about how I was going to have to get a cheap summer job to raise money for a new school. What fun!

The worst part was, I had to ride into the city on the bus with Grover. I hadn't told him about the conversation I had over heard last night between him and Mr. Brunner. I was still trying (and failing. Miserably) to convince myself that I had made it all up.

We were sitting on the Greyhound, in the very back seat. Grover had on his on his rasta cap and was muttering to himself again. His eyes darted around the bus, as if he was expecting something to jump out and attack us.

I couldn't stand it anymore. I decided to divulge my secret.

"Watching out for another Kindly One?" I asked.

Grover turned and stared at me with wide eyes. "What?" He sputtered.

I told him about my eavesdropping last night.

His face was twitching. "How much did you hear?"

"Oh, not much." I muttered. "Just some stuff about a Kindly One and the Mist and something about your senses."

Grover's acne covered face went white. His eyes were wide. He began to wring his hands nervously. "Oh, okay." He looked around for a moment, as if trying to come to a decision about something. Finally, he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a card. He handed it to me. It read:

 _Grover Underwood_

 _Keeper_

 _Half Blood Hill_

 _Long Island, New York_

"What is this?"

"It's my summer address." Grover told me. My face dropped. Even Grover had a summer home. A mansion. Even he was rich. Wow. You think you know a guy.

"Why do I need this!" I asked him slowly.

"In case you need me."

"Why would I need you?" I asked him harshly. Normally, I would have felt bad, but I knew Grover was holding things back from me, and I was mad. I thought he was my friend.

We spent the rest of the bus ride in silence. When we got to our stop, I ditched Grover while he was in the bathroom. Without looking back, I walked up to the east side, towards my Mother's apartment.

 **My character of the day: Iris, the rainbow goddess.**


	2. Not Exactly a Relaxing Trip

**Here is part two. I'm about to introduce my OC soon. I hope you enjoy and can give this story a chance. I promise it gets better as it goes on. Please feel free to review, comment, and criticize. I enjoy all feedback, no matter what. Please enjoy!**

 **disclaimer: Do you honestly think I'm Rick Riordan? Heh. Thought not.**

 **Sentences with * next to them are taken straight from the book and belong completely to their original owner Rick Riordan**

Percy II

I could smell my stepdad Gabe from the hallway. He had a very specific scent, one that was easily recognizable, and absolutely nauseating. It was an awful mixture of cigar smoke, old tacos, flat beer, and very, very bad BO. And because of him, our whole house smelled that way. That is why, at the age of five, I gave him the nickname 'Smelly Gabe'. Even though I was 12 now, and it was very immature, I still called him that. It suited him.

I absolutely despised Gabe. He was a sexist, alcoholic, gambling addicted pig. He treated my mom, and all women for that matter, with disrespect. And me, well, he acted as if I was the dumbest, most reckless, foulest creature ever to walk the face of the earth. Needless to say, the feeling was mutual.

But my mom did not deserved to be stuck with him. My mother, Sally Jackson, was the nicest women. Ever. She had had a hard life, her parents were dead and she never got to finish high school. Now, she was stuck with Smelly Gabe, the worlds biggest pig. And the worst part, my mom never said anything about it. She just quietly complied, never arguing against him or raising her voice. It wasn't fair.

I took a deep breath and walked into our tiny apartment. Gabe was in the middle of one of his poker matches in the living room. Trash was strewn all about the room and the TV was blaring a baseball game, which nobody was paying attention to.

Without looking at me, he grumbled "Well, well. The little brat's back."

"Where is my mother?"

"Work." He grunted. "Any money on you?"

I rolled my eyes. Gabe owned the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he almost never left the house. He just kept on getting pay checks for doing nothing, and kept blowing all the money on crap that meant nothing. And, when I got home, he expected me to pay off his gambling debts.

"No." I said.

He looked at me sceptically. That man could sniff out money like a bloodhound could sniff out a raccoon. "Hand it over." I growled.

Slowly, I reached into my pocket and pulled out a wad of dollars. I handed them over and placed them in Gabe's greasy hand. Uugh.

I turned and ran into my room, slamming the door behind me. I could hear Gabe grumbling something about me under his breath. That guy was so annoying. I looked around the room, and my nose wrinkled in disgust. While I was gone, Gabe has turned this room into his study, which meant that he had shoved all of my stuff into the closet and had littered the room with dirty magazines, car manuals, beer cans, and muddy shoes. Home sweet home.

Then I heard my mom's voice. "Perce?"

She opened my bedroom door, and my frown turned into a smile.

She flashed a warm smile towards me. Her brown eyes sparkled. When she looked at me, I instantly felt so much better about everything. Her Sweet on America uniform smelled like all things good: licorice, chocolate, and all the other great things that she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She was holding a big bag of 'free samples' for me and her to share.

I told her about my year at Yancy, trying to pick out the best details, lying about some things. I tried, for her sake, to sound a little upbeat about my last few days. I told her that I had made some friends, I had done pretty well in Latin, and I had almost lasted a year this time. I did such a great acting job, that I almost convinced myself that the year wasn't that bad.

But then, I thought of Mrs. Dodds.

I shivered. Even the name freaked me out.

My mom's face was suddenly racked with worry. Her eyes got wide. "Did something scare you honey? Did something happen?"

"No." I lied. I felt bad about it, but I didn't want her to worry about me. She already had enough on her mind.

She looked at me sternly, but didn't press on. "I have a surprise for you." She smiled. My ears perked up. "We're going to Montauk, three nights, same cabin."

"When?" I asked excitedly, like a child that was about to get an ice cream cone.

"Right after I change." She said

Just then, Gabe barged into the room. "Sally, I've been hollering at you for forever now. How 'bout you make us some bean dip." It was more of an order than a suggestion.

My mom smiled softly, e way she always did whenever Gabe yelled. "Okay honey. Percy and I were just talking about the trip. We're going to leave soon."

Gabe's eyes got wide. "You were serious about that?"

"Of course I was, but don't worry. I know you're concerned about money, but I promise that all the money will come out of my clothes budget." My mom said softly. "And, Gabriel, you won't have to settle for bean dip. I am going to make you a full, seven layer dip. Salsa, guacamole, the works." She added the last part, knowing it would make Gabe happy.

"Okay, but only if you take the car there and back. Nowhere else."

"Of course dear."

"Also, maybe if you hurry with the seven layer dip, and if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game.."

Maybe if I kick you in the soft spot and make you sing soprano for a week.*

But, my mother shot me a warning look and I grumbled an apology.

Gabe grunted and walked out. My mom tousled my hair and left to go make Gabe's oh-so important dip.

An hour later, we were ready to go. Gabe followed us down to the car, grumbling about losing my mom's cooking and his Camaro- for a whole weekend. He kept yelling at me, telling me not to scratch his car.

I rolled my eyes. Like I would be the one who was driving.

Then I rolled my eyes again. Like Gabe cared.

We got in the car and sped off, and I didn't' look back.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Our rental cabin was a little place, covered in a peeling and faded pastel paint job. There was sand on the floor inside and it barely had working electricity. And this place was my favorite place on earth.

My mom had been coming here since she was a little girl. This place held a special spot in her heart.

We got there at sunset, and after our cleaning routine, we walked around the beach, snacking on blue corn chips, blue salt water taffy, blue jelly beans, and all the other candies that were in the sample bag.

Maybe I should explain the blue food.

Well, Gabe had once told my mom that blue food did not exist. My mom disagreed. They had a big fight about it, even though it was a stupid thing. Ever since that day, my mom has gone out of her way to find and eat all blue foods possible. This- and the fact that she kept her maiden name, Jackson- proved that she was not completely controlled by Gave. She had some fire to her, like me.

After that, we made a fire and roasted hot dogs. My mom told me stories about her life and her job. She told me about her parents, before they died, her uncle, her ideas for her novel. It was getting really dark now, and I decided that this would be a good time to ask.

"What was my father like?" I questioned.

I could see a small smile creep across her face in the glow of the fire. "He was wonderful Percy. He was gentle, kind, tall, handsome, and powerful. You have his hair, and his eyes you know." My mom stopped and looked up at me with shining eyes. "If he could see you now, he would be so proud."

No he wouldn't be. I was a scrawny, friendless boy with dyslexia, ADHD, and a D+ average.

"How old was I….when he left.?" I asked quietly.

She looked into the fire. "He left before you were born Percy. He was only with me for one summer."

I stared at her for a moment. I had always thought that he had known me as a baby. My mom had never said it, but I just figured that he had.

We sat there in silence for a good five minutes, unsure of what to say.

Then I swallowed slowly. "Are you going to send me to a boarding school, again?"

She pulled her hot dog from the fire. "I...I think so."

"Because you don't want me around?" I asked, instantly regretting saying it.

My mom looked at me with wide eyes, full of pain. "Of course not Percy! Why would you say that?" She sounded extremely hurt. I felt terrible. "I just, I just have to, for your own good."

"Because I'm dangerous. I'm not normal."

"You say that like it's bad. But you don't realize just how much you are impacting everything. I thought Yancy was a place where you could finally be safe."

"Safe from what?"

She looked at me, and I suddenly remembered everything bad or dangerous that had ever happened to me. All the strange, scary things that I had tried so hard to forget.

In every school that I had gone to, something creepy had happened, and I had been forced to leave. *

"There is a place," my mother continued, "that your father wanted to send you. But I...I can't stand it. It's a special summer camp."

I was so confused. Why had my dad- who had never even met me- cared enough to talk to my mom about sending me to a special summer camp? And, why had my mom not mentioned it before?

I was about to ask her more questions when she looked directly at me. "I'm sorry Percy, but I can't stand to talk about it. I-I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean not seeing you again."

I sat there, staring at the fire, extremely confused. I wanted to talk more, but I could tell ,from the expression on her face, that my mom would start crying if we talked anymore.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

In my dream, I saw an eagle and a white horse trying to kill each other. The eagle swooped down, raking the horse's flank with it's talons. The horse but at the eagle's wings. I tried running towards them. I knew I had to stop this, but my feet seemed glued in place. Then, I heard thunder rumbling in the distance. It sounded like deep laughter filling the sky.

I woke up suddenly.

It was storming outside. There was thunder rumbling, and it eerily reminded me of the murderous thunder in my dream. Rain beat on the windows and wind pulled on the door. There was a lightening flash and my mom sat bolt upright. "Hurricane. I know it." She said.

Then I heard a loud thumping sound. Someone was pounding on the door. Why? Who was outside in the middle of the night, in a hurricane?

My mother jumped up and went to the door. She threw it open, and standing on the porch, was Grover, wearing no pants.

"I've been looking everywhere!" He heaved. "When did you think this was a good idea?"

My mom stared at him, eyes wide. But, she didn't seem shocked by Grover, but of why he came.

"Percy? What haven't you told me about Yancy?" She asked me, turning wildly to face me. I was still staring at what should have been Grover's legs.

"It's right behind me Perce! Didn't you tell her?" I stood there in a stupor, still extremely confused. Was I still dreaming?

"Tell me right now Perseus Jackson." My mother bellowed. That brought me back. Number 1, she never, ever, ever yelled. Two, she never used my full name. Quickly, I told her about Mrs. Dodds, and the conversation I had heard between Grover and Mr. Brunner. My mother's face went deadly pale. "Get in the car. Now"

Grover ran to the car, but he wasn't entirely running. He was, well, trotting. Suddenly, I understood why he could run well, but he had to walk with crutches.

Instead of human legs, Grover had goat legs.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

My mother drove like a mad woman through the rain, wind pushing the Camaro around on the country road.

I watched my mother and Grover interact. They muttered a few things to each other, and they kept shooting me nervous glances, as if, at any moment, I would be gone.

"You to….know each other?" I choked out.

"We haven't meet in person. But, I knew Heover was protecting you." My mom said slowly.

"Why do I need protection?"

"Just to make sure…" Grover trailed off.

"So what are you?" I asked, my ADHD made it so I couldn't focus on one thing for too long.

"I'm a satyr." Grover turned and faced me. "Have man, half goat."

"Wait, wait, wait." I said, shaking my head. "As in, the satyrs in Mr. Brunner's myths?"

"Saytrs are not myths Percy, just like Mrs. Dodds was no myth."

"Hah! There was a Mrs. Dodds! Why did you lie?" I was now even more confused. And that was an impressive feat, considering my best friend had just told me that he was some half breed from Greek myth.

"The less you know, the less monsters come after you." Grover said. "I thought the Mist would be strong enough to make you think you had just imagined her, but you're too strong. You are finally coming into your powers."

"What powers? What do you mean?" I stammered.

A weird screaming, crying noise came from somewhere behind us, breaking through the storm.

"Drive faster Mrs. Jackson!" Grover pushed.

"Woah, wait. What's following us?"

"Oh, just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions!" * Grover babbled nervously.

"Grover!" My mom yelled.

My mom turned swiftly onto a side rode, framed by whit picket fences and strawberry bushes.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To the summer camp I was telling you about. The place your dad wanted you to go."

"And the place you didn't want me to go."

My mother ignored my comment, and kept driving. I heard her muttering to herself "Just another mile. Just 1 more. Please Gods. Please Gods."

Please Gods? As in, plural? I didn't know my mom believed in that kind of stuff. I was about to ask her about it when there was an explosion and our car went straight into a ditch. I slammed forward and hit my head on the driver's seat.

"Ow." I muttered. The roof was cracked and rain was leaking. I looked in the front seat. My mother was sitting there in shock. Grover sat there, a motionless lump in the passenger's seat.

No! I thought. You are my only real friend, even if you are a sa….satyr. You couldn't die.

I was about to check for a pulse when I heard Grover moan. Whew! He was alive.

"Percy. We have to get out. Now." My mom gasped, the shock wearing off.

I turned around and saw a terrifying sight. It was a man the size of a line backer. Well, at least he had the legs of a man. When I finally managed to look up, I realized that this was most definitely not a man.

He was bear chested, wearing no shirt. His upper body was completely covered in black hair. Fur, I told myself. His face was the worst part. He had the face of a bull,with a large check nose and two giant, dark eyes. Two large horns were pointing straight out of the top of his head.

This creature reminded me of something I had learned about in Me. Brunner's class.

Wait, if satyrs are real, that means the other myths are true. Wait, that would mean…

My face went pale. This was the Minotaur.

 **Character of the day: Rachel Elizabeth Dare**


	3. Why Do Bad Things Happen When It Rains?

**Here is the next chapter! Thank you to all who read and all who PMed me. Please give this story a chance. I hope you can review or PM, I love all kinds of feedback! Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer- There once was a man named Rick, and his books, they were fine. But sadly, he gets the credit for all that I edit, because the books are not yet mine.**

 **Annabeth I**

I sat next to the fireplace in the big house. My blonde hair was dripping wet and my shoes were absolutely soaked, but I didn't care. I never cared what I looked like. I wasn't some starry-eyed Aphrodite girl.

I was an Athena girl. We weren't sensitive like that. We were strong.

I sat on a lumpy lounge chair in the middle of the Big House's living room. I was playing with the five clay beads on my necklace. Each bead represented another summer of me staying at this camp. They depicted the most important events of each summer. The first one, from my first summer at Camp Half-Blood had a pine tree on it, for my friend Thalia. She had been turned into a tree five years ago. It was...well...it was a long story. The second had a Greek trireme that was illuminated with tiny flames. The third had a centaur in a hot pink prom dress. That was a messed up year. The fourth bead had a pair of shoes with little wings on them. That one was for my friend Luke, a son of Hermes. The fifth one, the newest one, had a large, golden chariot surrounded by green olive branches.

There were very few people at camp that had as many beads as I did, and most of them were much, much older than me.

I stared into the flames, silently. Chiron had called me up to the Big House in the middle of the night.

Yes, you are right. THE Chiron, centaur, trainer of heroes, thousands of years old. Yeah, he was the activities director of the camp I go to. Camp Half-Blood. Summer camp for demigods.

Let me elaborate. My name is Annabeth Chase, and I am a daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, crafts, and battle strategy, and, in my opinion, the best goddess.

Don't tell the others I said that.

I am twelve years old and a year round camper at Camp Half-Blood. I've been coming here since I was seven, but my entire life I have known that I was different. I was stronger than the other kids, faster, and much, much smarter. I had never fit in, anywhere.

Until I found Camp Half-Blood.

This place was my home. It was hidden in a valley in Long Island, disguised as a strawberry farm. It was protected by an invisible, magical border. The border kept out monsters, and other unwanted creatures. The entrance was on the top of a hill, called Half-Blood Hill, with a giant pine tree on it, the same pine tree that was on my bead. At the foot of the hill, there was a large farmhouse with white siding a blue shutters. It had a wraparound porch and the lights were always on. This place was called the Big House. It was where meetings were held, where the infirmary was located, and where the camp directors stayed. Further into the valley were the activity areas. There was a canoeing lake, and a beach that looked out over Long Island Sound. There was a rock wall that spewed lava and a real, working metal forge. There were archery ranges, sword fighting arenas, and a Pegasus stable. You heard me. A Pegasus stable.

In the center of the valley there was a cluster of 12, mismatched buildings. These were the cabins. Each represented a different Olympian and the children of that God or Goddess stayed in their cabin. They were arranged in a U shape, a mirror image of how the 12 thrones are set up on Mount Olympus. Even cabins, female cabins, with the exception of Dionysus, were on the right. Odd, and male, cabins were on the left.

Cabin One was a large, marble building with Greek columns and large brass doors. It seemed to radiate energy, like there was lghtning in the walls. This was the cabin for Zeus. It was empty, considering Zeus had no childr…..well, no alive children. None of the Big Three Gods had children because of a pact that they had made after World War 1. Their cabins were mostly honorary.

Cabin Two was similar to Cabin One. But it was slightly smaller, and more graceful. Instead of energy, it gave off an aura of war th. This was Hera's cabin. But, since Hera was the goddess of marriage, and she was married, she had no mortal children. That cabin was also honorary.

Cabin Three looked like an old, but well loved, beach house. It had faded blue siding and smelled of saltwater. This was Poseidon's cabin, also honorary.

Cabin Four was a beautiful building, covered from floor to roof in plants. Flowers grew out of pots in the windowsills and the roof was thatched with bright, green grass. This was Demeter's cabin. This was also the first cabin to have actual people in it. The Demeter children were amazing with plants and got along great with the Nymphs.

Cabin Five was, in my opinion, a hot mess. It was badly painted a gaudy blood-red and a stuffed boar's head hung over the door. This was the Ares cabin. His children were mean. They all wore the same ugly sneer and size XXXXL camp t-shirt. They wouldn't hesitate to beat you into a pulp. I hated them.

Cabin Six was a plain, gray building. It had cream colored curtains and a beautiful drawing of an owl above the entrance. The space in front of the door was always littered with books, papers, blueprints, etc. This was my cabin The Athena cabin. My siblings and I were all incredibly smart and tactful. We were always one step ahead of all the other campers.

Cabin Seven was made of solid gold and seemed to glow in the daylight. Although, I've never been able to tell whether or not it was from the gold reflecting the sunlight, or if the cabin itself truly did glow. Well, however it works, this was Apollo's cabin. His children were almost always good-looking, skilled archers, healers, and amazing (yet sometimes incredibly annoying) poets.

Cabin Eight was identical to Cabin Seven, except for the fact that it was silver, not gold. This cabin would always shimmer in the moonlight. This one belonged to Artemis, but since she was a maiden goddess, it was honorary.

Cabin Nine was made to look like a small scale factory, with smoke billowing from chimneys in the roof and gears lining the door and windows. This was where the Hephaestus children stayed. Typically, these demigods were strong and amazing metal workers. Also, they were generally pretty smart, which I liked.

Cabin Ten reminded me of my version of the Fields of Punishment. The walls were neatly painted white and the roof was a powder blue. The porch had a checkerboard floor and gray stone steps. If you are within fifteen feet of that place, you will gag from the overwhelming smell of multiple designer perfumes and magical flowers. There was a bright pink heart over the door and lacy curtains hung on the windows. This was the cabin dedicated to Aphrodite. Her children, I'll admit, were attractive, but, they were also boy/girl crazy, self obsessed, wore a lot o makeup, and were generally as Dumb. As. Bricks. I would die if I had to stay there.

Cabin Eleven looked like an old, worn down, mortal summer camp cabin. It had just plain wooden walls and a faded caduceus over the door. This cabin was for the Hermes children. But, since Hermes was the God of travelers, this was also the place where any unclaimed demigods stayed. They place was completely packed. Hermes children all had a look of mischief about them. They were master pickpockets and excellent pranksters. You always made sure to never go near them with your valuables.

And last, Cabin Twelve was a simple gray building that was absolutely covered in grapevines. This was Dionysus's cabin. He only had two demigod children, so they were the only two who stayed there. Like the Demeter kids, they were wonderful with plants.

Oh, fun fact that I forgot to mention: Dionysus, the God of wine, was our camp director.

I know what you're thinking. Why? Just, why? Well, I'll tell you. He was sent here as a punishment from his father, Zeus, after he caught the fancy of a nymph, and well, got a little too involved with her. Zeus sent him here to 'help the youth'. That was a load of crap. All Mr. D, which what we called him, did was sit on his but, drinking his Diet Coke. Ah yes, his punishment, going to Camp Half-Blood, also included a Prohibition of sorts. Let's just, a wine god that can't drink wine, not a good idea.

Again, don't tell him I said that.

"Hey Annie." a quiet voice said behind me, shaking me out of my thoughts. I groaned loudly. How many times have I told her that I hate that nickname?

"Stop calling me that! You know I hate it." I snapped, turning around. The girl in front of me had a triumphant smirk on her face.

"Whatever you say, Annie." She chided. I rolled my gray eyes.

The girl speaking to me was Ariana Morusso, an unclaimed demigod and a year rounder at camp. She was my best friend, despite her being two years younger than me. She and I had met almost 6 years ago and had come to camp together ever since. Like me, she stayed here all summer and winter. Needless to say, she spent a lot of time with me.

She was a short girl, about four inches shorter than me. Her skin had a deep, natural tan. She had dark brown, almost black hair that cascaded down her back, all the way to her tailbone. It was in natural beach waves. Her cheeks were slightly pink and her lips were a natural cherry red. But, by far her most intriguing features were her eyes. Her left one was as dark brown as her hair. Her eyes weren't anything special if you just saw her profile, but when she turned, it was a whole different story. Unlike her left eye, her right eye was a bright, shining blue, the color of the sky. It was startling to look at, and kind of off putting, but that's why I thought she was absolutely gorgeous.

Ariana was standing in the hallway next to the living room in a pair of black leggings, an oversized sweater, and black combat boots, absolutely soaking wet. She dripped water into puddles on the hardwood floor but, she didn't seem to mind. Casually, she walked over and plopped herself down on the couch next to me, not apparently caring that she would make the cushions wet. Ariana let out a loud groan and put her muddy feet on the coffee table.

That girl had the best manners.

"What's up with this weather?" She said, not really asking me in particular, just, kind of stating a fact.

"I don't know Ari." I answered. She was right, the weather was messed up. Normally, the camp's magical borders kept out rain, but this storm seemed stronger than the rest. It passed right through our borders like they were made of tissue paper. Something was definitely not right "Why are you here?"

"Same as you, I guess. Chiron summoned me, no idea why." Ari shrugged. Then she looked at me quizzically. "Do you know?"

I shook my head slowly. "No. Not a clue."

We sat sat there in silence for a few minutes, listening to the steady thumping of the rain. I could see Ari dozing off next to me, her head occasionally lulling to the side, and then shooting straight back up, her eyes wide. I couldn't blame her. It was about, I leaned over to check my watch, 1 in the morning. All the rest of camp was asleep in their bunks, or the floor for some Hermes campers, and we, we were waiting. Waiting for Chiron.

Suddenly, I heard someone in the doorway. I turned to see Chiron sitting in the doorway. Whenever he wanted, he could magically fit his horse half into a wheelchair, so he could appear normal. Right now, he was in wheelchair form, and not full on centaur form. He had wispy brown hair and a scraggly, thinning beard. Normally, he wore a tweed jacket, but now, he was wearing a blue striped pajama shirt, a green blanket over his fake legs. He gave me a soft smile before speaking again. "Thank you girls for meeting with me at this late hour."

"It's fine Chiron." Ariana said next to, quickly taking her feet off of the coffee table. "Why did you need us?"

"It has to do with your prophecy my dear." He said clearly, looking directly at me. I stared at him shocked. Really? Was it happening?

Listen, every few summers, a group of campers are assigned a quest, a job to do out in the real world. I have been hoping for one ever since I got here, but Chiron kept dismissing me. But, after I pestered him and pestered him, he finally told me that he would talk to The Oracle, the spirit which gave us prophecies. When he got back, all he told me was that I had to wait for someone special to get here before I could go on a quest.

Now, every time we got a new camper, I would get my hopes up, just to be let down again.

"Really?" I asked skeptically. I didn't want to be crushed again.

Chiron nodded his head. "I believe so. I have been watching this one for almost a year now, and I am almost convinced, as is Grover, his Keeper."

"I just don't want to get my hopes up again! I'm tired of this." I groaned, but it came out more whiny than I expected. Chiron gave me a hard look.

"I understand Ms. Chase." He replied flatly

There was an awkward silence for a few moments where I stared at Chiron and Chiron stared at me. Our eyes were locked in a battle, his brown eyes against my steely gray ones, each trying to pick out subtle hints of emotion in the other's expression.

"That's great!" Ariana smiled awkwardly, trying to break the building tension in the room. "But, why do we have to be here now? Couldn't this wait until the morning?"

Chiron turned his gaze from me to her, not blinking the entire time. "Well, Ariana, it is relevant now. The demigod we are waiting for is just on top of Half-Blood Hill, as we speak."

"What?" I yelped. "Now?"

"Yes. The boy and his mother were driving from Montauk, but they crashed into a ditch, just at the top of the hill." The centaur explained.

"Why don't we go help them? Where are they now? How do you know all of this?" Ariana spouted questions like a fountain, her mismatched eyes growing larger by the second.

"Right now," Chiron looked out of the window, as if he could see them now. "the boy is fighting the Minotaur."

"What in the Hades?" I yelled, probably waking up half of the camp. He, a new camper, was fighting the Minotaur? THE Minotaur? "Why am I not….I mean, why aren't we helping him?"

"We need to see what he can do." Chiron explained. "If he can fight off the monster, than we will know that he has what it takes to be the one. If it kills him, well, at least we will know if it was him or not."

I've never seen Chiron so relaxed about a demigod fighting a monster before. Either he had no faith in this boy, whoever he was, or he had all the faith in Olympus that he would succeed. This guy must be impressive.

Suddenly, I heard a large thump. At first, I thought it was thunder, but the look in Chiron's eyes told me differently. "Sounds like our hero has arrived." He smirked, turning and wheeling down the hallway.

Ari and I exchanged a look that clearly said 'What in the Hades is going on here?' before we quickly followed the wise centaur. We ran down the hallway, our wet shoes squishing with every step. We ran past the staircase and followed Chiron out onto the porch. Why were we going out there?

"Chiron why are out here? It's soaki…." I trailed off when we got out there.

There were two figures lying on the porch in front of me. One was a satyr, he was probably fairly old, but his face appeared as if he was a 13 year old boy with a wispy goatee and a very severe case of acne. He wore a green hoodie and a red Rasta cap. His face and hoodie were both caked in mud. His brown, curly hair was plastered on his face by the violent rain. I knew exactly who his was.

"Grover!" I cried. I knelt down next to him, before I looked over and saw the other boy.

He looked to be my age, probably 12. He was lying flat on this back, breathing heavily. He had a mess of jet black hair, sticking up in all directions. His eyes were open, staring at the ceiling. Wow. His eyes were beautiful. They were an intoxicating green, but no a grass green. No, they were a sea green. They were eyes you could just….

Woah Annabeth! Get yourself together girl.

He was wearing a pair of torn jeans. His blue t-shirt was soaked with blood and mud. There was a cut above his left eye and there was blood trickling from his lip. His entire body was drenched in rainwater. What happened to him? Then, I looked down and saw his hands.

In his muddy, blood stained hands, he held a horn. A Minotaur horn.

So this was the boy Chiron was speaking of. Huh.

"Come here Annabeth. We must take him inside." Chiron called motioning to the other boy. I looked down at Grover and shook my head.

"No.I...I need to make sure Grover is okay." I stuttered. Grover was one of my best friends. I owed him my life. I had to take care of him.

"No." Chiron stated. "Mr. Underwood is fine. Just, unconscious. But this boy, he is in bad shape. Something bad, really bad, has just happened to him, but I don't know what. I can just, sense it."

Just then Grover groaned. "Uugh, enchiladas." He mumbled.

Oh, he was just fine.

I got up and ran to the other boy, getting on my knees next to Ariana. Chiron wheeled over, looking down on the boy, his brow furrowed with worry. The boy stared at us for a few moments, his eyes wide. Our gazes locked, and I read his expression. He was terrified.

Then, his eyes shut and his body went limp. I gasped. Was he dead? What had just happened?

"He passed out." Ariana said softly next to me, as if reading my thoughts. She had his head cradled in her hands. "Let's get him inside."

I nodded curtly and grabbed his thighs. This was a little awkward, holding a random guy's butt, but I wasn't focused on that now. Ari grabbed his shoulders with one hand, and cradled his head with the other.

Neither of us may have been very big, but we were both much stronger than we appeared. Carefully, we carried him into the Big House, and down the hall where we had the infirmary.

Maybe this boy really was someone special.

 **Character of the day- Hecate, the goddess of magic**


	4. He Needed His Beauty Sleep

**Here is chapter 4! I hope y'all like it. This chapter is from my OC's POV, trying to be a little different. Please, please, please review! I love all feedback and constructive criticism.**

 **Disclaimer: If I'm Rick Riordan, you're Harry Potter. (Unless you are. Than good for you dude.)**

Ariana I

I stared at the boy on the bed in front of me. He had a mop of black hair that looked as if a brush had never even come near it. And you couldn't tell because they were closed now, but his eyes were a bright, unruly green. I had to admit, he was kind of attractive, but of course, I would never say that out , he was two years older than. He was twelve and I was ten. I was still a little kid to people like him.

But, I have seen and been through more than most adults. I am mature beyond years.

Annabeth Chase, my best friend, was spoon feeding him ambrosia, the food of the Gods. For a demigod, it will heal you, if you eat it in small doses. If you have too much, Boom! You will basically spontaneously combust. She was watching him intently with her steely gray eyes. I could see in her face that she was trying to figure this boy out. She desperately hoped that he was the one, but she knew not to wish too much.

The boy slipped in and out of consciousness. This was the third day since his arrival, the third day of him lying in the infirmary, not fully coming around. Annabeth and I were taking turns watching him and feeding him. Word had spread around the camp that there was a new arrival, and the excitement was building. Now, all we could do was wait. Wait for him to wake up. Wait for him to be claimed by his godly parent.

Wait to see if he is the one.

Every so often, he would wake up, open his eyes for a while, but, whenever he did, his green orbs were cloudy and unfocused. His eyes would wander around, occasionally locking on one thing or another, but it would never last. Just as soon as he had woken up, he would fall back asleep.

Now, even though he was asleep, we Annabeth and I still managed to learn a few things about this mysterious demigod. Why do you ask? The boy was the chattiest sleeper I have ever known. Every so often, he would spew out random sentences, different pieces of information.

Here is what we learned:

The boy had lost someone. A woman, or girl that was close to him. She was either missing, or dead, judging by the anguish of his words. He kept saying "Where is she? What happened to her? No!" He didn't just say these words. He yelled them.

Next, he had spent a lot of time with Grover Underwood, a satyr here at camp that had been sent out as his Keeper. Every once in awhile, he would mumble the word "Enchiladas." , which I know is Grover's favorite food.

Then, we learned that he had fought a Fury. A freakin' FURY! He would spout out random sentences like "Mrs. Dodds, your leather jacket morphed into bat wings!" or "Why is there a bird hag monster trying to kill me?" or "Hey, a Kindly One!" or "How come it exploded into dust when I stabbed it." And, my favorite one, "Woah! Mr. Brunner! Do all of your school supplies turn into weapons?"

I had never even met this boy, and I thought he was hysterical.

Last, we discovered that he did know something about the trouble that was brewing on Olympus, even if he did not quite understand it yet. Whenever he would fall into a deep sleep, he would mumble even stranger things. Things like "The brothers grow restless as the time grows near." and "The Solstice is coming." He mumbled these things as if someone was controlling him, using him to say their words, like a ventriloquist's dummy. It was a little creepy.

Right now, it was the awkward time before dinner, but hoof finial activities were taking place. It was recreation time. I had nothing to do, so I had come here to keep an eye on the boy. Obviously, Annabeth had had the same idea.

"Who do you think he belongs to?" I asked quietly. Annabeth placed the remaining pieces of ambrosia on the bedside table. She let out a long sigh, standing up straight next to me.

She knew what I was asking. I was asking who his Godly parent is, if she had any guesses. We knew that it had to be a God and not a Goddess, because, according to Grover, his mother was a mortal woman that lived in New York City.

"I don't know Ari." She said glumly. "I mean, I am hoping that he is the one in my prophecy, but….." She trailed off, brushing a strand of her honey blonde hair out of her face.

I felt bad for her. It was hard to watch, sometimes. Whenever a new face would appear, she would just get let down all over again.

"Well, I'm thinking he's uh….." I stared at him. "Apollo, maybe Hermes."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "I could see that."

After five years at Camp Half-Blood, you get good at guessing people's godly parentage. There are certain signs you look for that will tell you all that you need to know.

For example, children of Athena all looked very similar. They all had blonde hair and gray eyes. Ares campers looked like giant Bulldogs, with evil sneers and pig noses. Hermes children had mischievous looks in their eyes, and always wore a sneaky grin. Aphrodite campers all looked different, but they were all gorgeous, I'll be it, pretty dumb.

Those were the kinds of traits that you looked at.

The problem with this kid was, he didn't fit any of those descriptions. He was muscular, but not to muscular. His eyes, when they were open, looked wild and unruly, unlike any other demigod I've ever seen, well except for Thalia….. Never mind. He also had a strange aura of power around him, which I have also never seen.

Who was he?

Annabeth and I stood next to each other in awkward silence for a few moments. Thinking to ourselves. "Well, I have to run." Annabeth said, glancing at her watch. I smiled gently at her and nodded.

"Alright. It's your loss. I have a feeling that he is going to wake up today. But, you never know. See ya later." I tossed lightly. Annabeth smirked, shoving my shoulder as she walked past me. She began to walk out, but stopped when she reached the door. She turned around and gave me a serious look.

"If he does wake up," she stated. "He might ask you why I asked him about he solstice, if he remembers."

"You tried to talk to him?" I looked at her, raising an eyebrow. She shot me a short smile, turned, and walked out, her blonde hair swishing as she went.

"Oh, Annie, Annie, Annie." I chuckled. Suddenly, I heard a loud groan from behind me. I turned so quickly that I almost gave myself whiplash.

The boy was sitting up on the bed, keeping himself propped up with his hands. His green eyes were open and clear, unlike the other times when they had been clouded and confused. He was really awake.

"Look who's up." I said quietly.

"Whe….where am I?" His voice was rough like sandpaper and the words seem to form a clump in his throat. At that moment, I realized that he was probably dehydrated. He hadn't had any liquids in days. I rushed over to the bedside table and grabbed the cup that was on it. It was a cup of nectar, another Godly food, like ambrosia.

"Drink this." I said softly, gently placing the straw to his lips. He looked at me skeptically, as if deciding whether or not I was trying to poison him. After a moment, he gave in to his thirst and began to drink.

At first, his sips were slow and forced, as if they were painful. But, after a while, he began to gulp the drink down. I could almost see him getting stronger by the gulp. After he had drained almost half of the glass, I pulled it away from him. He began to protest, but I stopped him. "This is nectar. You can't drink too much of this or you will catch on fire." He looked at me like I had just told him a stupid joke.

I was dead serious.

"So, what did that drink taste like to you?" I asked him. You see, nectar tasted different to everyone. It tastes like whatever your favorite food is. I taste molten lava cake. I love to ask people what they taste. I've heard some weird ones, like cheeseburgers, steak, and my personal favorite, Lactose Free, Sugar Free, Fat Free, Skim Milk Triple Mint Chip ice cream. That one came from Drew, daughter of Aphrodite.

"It tasted like, cookies. Fresh baked, blue chocolate chip cookies." He said this in a very unsure tone. I understand why. Nectar was strange the first time you tried it, but it tasted better and better every time.

"Huh. Blue cookies." I said. "Whatever floats your boat man!"

He stared at me for a few moments before clearing his throat. "You never answered my question. Where am I?"

"Camp Half-Blood." I said happily, gesturing to my bright orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt that I had on.

"So, all that stuff with the Minotaur…..and Mrs. Dodds…..that was all real?" He looked at e with wide eyes, full of confusion. He looked scared.

"Now, I have no idea who Mes. Dodds is," I chuckled. "But I do know about the Minotaur. He is most definitely real. The big, ugly βλάκας!" Yeah, that's right. I just called him a big, ugly idiot. It was true. He was. A really big and really ugly idiot.

His face suddenly turned sad. His eyes drooped and he sighed quietly. "So that means, my mom is…..is..is gone.I'm an orphan."

I looked at him with a face full of sympathy. I knew what it wa alike to have no parents, to have your mortal parent be gone and not know who your godly parent is. I feel bad for this guy, even though I don't know his story,

"Look, I'm so sorry for, whatever happened. Maybe we should go upstairs, talks to Chiron and Mr. D, clear things up a little." I suggested, giving him a weak smile, before offering him my hand. He looked at me glumly before taking my hand, pulling himself out of the bed. He looked down for a second to examine his outfit. We had swapped his bloody green tee for a fresh camp t-shirt and his old jeans for a pair of new ones.

No, of course Annabeth and I did not change him. We found some tree nymphs who were happy to do so…..just kidding. We made Grover do it.

I was about to start leading him out of the room, before I stopped myself. I needed to know something first. "What is your name?"

"Percy Jackson. Yours?"

"Ariana Morusso." I said softly. I pondered his name for a moment. Percy. I liked that name.

Slowly, I led him, or dragged him, out of the infirmary and down the hall. I was taking him to Chiron and Mr. D, who were currently on the Big House's porch. Carefully, I opened the screen door that led outside and stepped out into the blaring summer heat.

In front of us, there was a game of pinochle going on between Grover, Mr. D, and Chiron, who was in wheelchair form at the moment. This had to be the most powerful game of pinochle in history. Mr. D was clad in his normal, gaudy Hawaiian shirt. He had a can of Diet a Coke in his hand and was studying his cards closely. Chiron was wearing his usual tweed jacket that smelled of Old Spice and coffee. Grover sat between the two, awkwardly staring at the beings on both sides of him, as if at any moment one of them would explode.

Percy caught his breath beside. "Mr. Brunner?" He asked loudly. Chiron looked up and gave him a gentle smile.

"Here, it's Chiron, Percy." He stated matter-of-factly.

"Tha..that's my Latin teacher!" Percy stuttered quietly next to me. I shot him a quizzical glance, then gave the same one to Chiron. Suddenly, it clicked in my mind. Chiron said that he had been watching this boy for a while. He had made a house call, of sorts.

"Nifty." I grinned, pulling him closer to the card game. I leaned close to him, whispering in his ear. "That is Mr. D, the camp director. That is Chiron, or as you know him, Mr. Brunner, and you already know Grover."

"Percy, please sit down. Now we can have four for pinochle!" Chiron said, a little too excitedly for my liking, gesturing to the seat beside him. Percy gave me a questioning look and I responded with a reassuring smile, gently pushing him towards the chair. Reluctantly, he sat down. "Ariana, dear, will you go make sure his bunk is ready? We will be putting him in Cabin Eleven for the time being."

"Okay." I said. I looked Percy up and down one more time before climbing down the porch stairs, following the trail that went down the valley to the cabins. On the way, I passed a group of campers playing volleyball in the sand pit. One of the boys stopped and waved at me ask I walked past. That was Lee Fletcher, a son of Apollo.

I looked around as I walked, taking in all of my beautiful surroundings. I saw the Aphrodite campers grooming the horses. Silena Beauregard, the head counselor of the Aphrodite Cabin, was giving some younger campers a Pegasus flying lesson. Surprisingly, the divas were good with horses.

I passed the strawberry fields, which were teeming with bright red fruit, giving off an intoxicating aroma. Demigods walked around the fields, willing the plants to grow. These were children of Demeter, many of whom had powers that could control plants. Also, Dionysus's twin sons were somewhere among them, also using their powers. Satyrs and nymphs were scattered about, chatting, playing music, and running around.

I kept walking and saw the Ares children dueling in the sword arena. Spear against spear, knife against knife, sword against sword, hand to hand. You name it, they were fighting with it. They were definitely a crowd you did not want to get mixed up with.

Children of Apollo were shooting arrows in the archery range. I watched as a group of Hephaestus children marched towards the showers, covered in grime and oil, from spending time in the forge. Some of the Athena campers' shirts were singed. They had just been at the lava wall. A few kids were having a race on the canoe lake. There was a game of basketball going on in one of the courts, boys against girls.

I still kept walking until I came to a cluster of twelve buildings, set up in the shape of a U. These were the Cabins, each one representing a different God or goddess. They were arranged I the same way the thrones were set up on Mount Olympus. I know this, because I have been there. Yea, I have been to Mount Olympus. We went there last winter on a field trip with all the year rounders. Let's just say, it was frickin' amazing.

Anyway, each of the cabins was different, making for a very eclectic collection of buildings. My personal favorite one was Cabin Eight, the Artemis Cabin, and if I could choose,I would stay there. But, I can't. Oh well.

You might be wondering who my godly parent is. To tell you the truth, I have absolutely no idea. I have been here for five years, and have not been claimed. It was starting to get a little, no a lot, irritating. That's why I stay in Cabin Eleven, the Hermes cabin. That's where all unclaimed demigods stay. I've been there longer than some of Hermes' own children.

I walked into Cabin Eleven and was immediately met with stares from my cabin mates. All of them had just finished showering and were listening intently to a story that was being told by Travis Stoll, one of Hermes' sons. Apparently, I had interrupted it.

The reason I hated Cabin Eleven was because it was absolutely packed. Since they took not only children of Hermes, but all undetermined demigods, there were always more people than there were actual beds. That means, many of them slept in their sleeping bag on the floor. They had there own little patch of ground, and that was it. The floor was so crowded. Getting up to pee in the middle of the night was a complete and total nightmare.

Luckily, I was one of the 12 people that got a real bed. As a year round camper, I always get first dibs, and never have to move my stuff. It was pretty nice.

"Hey Ari." Travis said, flashing me a toothy grin.

"Sup Travis. Steal anything good today?" I asked. Travis, and his younger brother Connor were both notorious thrives. Travis and Connor were not only related by Hermes,their father, but they had the same mother. They weren't twins, but they looked extremely similar. Same curly brown hair, mischievous eyes, and quick hands. Plus, they had a creepy habit of finishing each other's sentences.

"Oh, you know it!" He said, giving me a quick wink.

"Where were you during rec Ari?" one of the campers asked me. This was Jaylen, an undetermined, 14 year old girl.

"Oh, right." I said, suddenly remembering why I came here in the first place. "The new guy finally woke up."

Everyone's eyes got wide and a flood of questions came at me all at once.

"What's his name?"

"Did he really kill the Minotaur?"

"Is he the one?"

"Has he been claimed?"

"Where is he staying?"

"Woah, woah, woah." I said, putting my hands up I surrender. "I can only answer one at a time. His name is Percy Jackson. Yes he killed the Minotaur. I have a so,u tell no idea if he is the one. He has not been claimed yet, and will therefore be staying here for now."

That last part caused a groan to erupt from the crowd. They hated getting new people. Not that they hated people, we just had no more room for anyone else.

"Now, now guys. That's what we're here for. We take in travelers, wanderers, strays. That's who we are." A male voice said, rising above the babble of the crowd. The speaker came forward, stepping into the light from his previous spot in the shadows.

He was a guy, about nineteen. His skin carried a natural tan and you could see his toned stomach through his camp t-shirt. He wore a pair of denim cut offs and some flip flops. His necklace was adorned with just as many beads as mine, five to be exact. His hair was sandy blonde and his eyes were a lively brown. He was very attractive, but his appearance was slightly marred by a larger white scar that ran all across his face.

This was Luke Castellan, head counselor of the Hermes cabin, and one of my absolute best friends.

"Yeah. Listen to him." I nodded my head I his direction and he rolled his eyes. I heard a murmur of "Fine" ripple from the crowd. After a few awkward seconds of silence, Travis continued on with his story. Of course he did. We were demigods, which meant that we all had ADHD. We hated silence.

Luke carefully made his way over to me, making sure he did not step on anyone. I gave him a grin and he responded with a huge smile. Finally, he managed to cross the sea of demigods and stood next to me, next to the door of the cabin. "So, new guy huh?"

"Yup." I said, emphasizing the 'P' sound. Luke laughed lightly at my behavior and tousled my hair. He was like my older brother. I have been with him since I was five. I barely remember what my live was like without him, but I didn't really want to. He was my family now, and I was content with that.

"Well, I assume he needs a sleeping bag and some toiletries." It was more of a statement than a question. I nodded my head. Luke let out a sigh. "Well, I Guess i'll steal him some from the camp store later."

When he said that he would steal the toiletries, he was dead serious.

"So, uh, when is he supposed to get here?" Luke asked awkwardly.

"Right now." I jumped. I turned and saw Annabeth standing behind me, Percy standing behind her. He had the Minotaur horn in his hands and an uncomfortable look on his face. Annabeth was staring at me with bright gray eyes,

"Great!" Luke said, very loudly. The talking died down again, and everyone turned towards the door, staring at the new arrival. You could practically see everyone sizing Percy up and down, judging him. Some eyes were just locked on the horn in his hands. Some of the guys were just staring at Annabeth.

"Percy Jackson, I am Luke Castellan, your new head counselor. Welcome to Cabin Eleven!"

 **Character of the day- Michael Yew, son of Apollo**


	5. Hot Blonde Girl Say WHATTTT?

**Here's chapter 5. Thanks to all of you who read my story. I hope you enjoyed , please, please review or PM me with criticisms or comments. I need to know whether or not to continue this story. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All praise goes to Ricky, man.**

Percy III

I walked in a stupor as Annabeth led me to Cabin Eleven. I couldn't believe what I had just been told.

Apparently, my real dad was not gone. He was a god. A GOD, like the ones in the Greek mugs and legends. Except, they weren't myths or stories. They were real. They were all real. Monsters and the Minotaur and satyrs and the gods. And my father was one of them.

I was a demigod.

What the hell.

Also, I learned that Mr. Brunner was not a teacher. He was the activities director of this camp. And, his name was not Mr. Brunner, it was Chiron, and he was a centaur. Apparently, he was almost three thousand years old and had been training demigods for as long as he was alive. He had a magical wheelchair that could hide his horse half.

He had been playing cards with Grover, my best friend, who just so happened to be a satyr, and a pudgy man in a horribly gaudy Hawaiian shirt. He had watery eyes and a dazed look. He reminded me of Gabe after he had a few beers. This man, I had learned, was Dionysus, the God of wine, and camp director.

After I had talked to him for a few minutes, I came to one conclusion:

He gave no craps about anything or anyone, except for his hand of cards.

I followed Annabeth along a large, winding trail, away from from the Big House. For some reason, Mr. Brun….Chiron had asked her to be my guide.I looked around the valley, and was absolutely speechless.

I saw a giant lake, full of campers canoeing and kayaking, and having a good time. There were big, burly kids wrestling and….,sword fighting in a dirt arena. Kids rode horses in the pasture next to us, and I could have sworn that a few of the animals had wings. Campers and satyrs walked along giant fields of strawberry plants. A group of about 10 teenagers were playing volleyball right next to the path. They all stopped what they were doing and stared as we walked by, like I had two heads or something.

"So, uh, Annabeth..." I started. She turned her head and looked at me as I spoke. Her eyes were a mesmerizing, steely gray color. They seemed to examine every little thing you did, as if she was constantly trying to find the best way to take you down. She scared me. But she was really pretty, I wonder if she is a child of Aphrodite….

"Yes?" She questioned, shaking me back to the present. Screw my ADHD.

"Oh right." I mumbled sheepishly. "Who is your godly parent?"

She straightened her shoulders a little bit, showing pride in herself. "My mother is Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy."

Ok, so definitely not Aphrodite.

We kept walking down the path, until we came into a large clearing, surrounded by the weirdest collection of cabins I had ever seen. Kids were everywhere. Some carried baskets of toiletries, walking towards the shower houses. Others were playing basketball. A few were just standing around, talking.

It looked like a normal summer camp.

But it definitely was not.

Once again, everyone stared as we went past. Why were they all so obsessed with me? Did I look weird or something? Why was I so important?

We stopped in front of one of the cabins. It looked the most normal out of all the buildings, with wooden paneled walls and a screen door. There was a faded caduceus above the door.

"Hermes?" I asked, looking at Annabeth.

"Yup. Cabin Eleven." She said with a nod. "For children of Hermes and all unclaimed demigods. This is where you will be staying…...for now." She added.

Ah. So I was 'unclaimed'.

I could hear a lot of voices coming from inside the building. I followed Annabeth up the steps, and stood behind her as she pulled open the screen door. We were going to walk in further, but two figures blocked our path. One was a tall guy with blonde hair. Next to him was a short girl with dark brown curls. I recognized her as Ariana, the one I had met when I first woke up.

"When is he supposed to get here?" I heard the guy ask. His voice was very deep, so I was assuming he was older.

"Right now." Annabeth said loudly, causing the two to jump in surprise. They both turned around quickly so they were facing us. I was still shocked by Ariana's mismatched eyes. I examined the guy's face. He had brown eyes and a chiseled chin. His face was slightly marred by a jagged white scar across his face.

"Great!" The guy said loudly, causing the room to go silent. For the first time, I took a good look around me. The cabin was absolutely packed, to the brim. There were six sets of bunk beds, and that was not nearly enough. There were sleeping bags, pillows, clothes, water bottles, and….swords (Okay?) strewn about the floor. There was so much stuff that you could barely see the hardwood underneath.

And there were people EVERYWHERE. People sitting on beds, the floor, on each other. There were about fifteen too many people in this cabin. Where the heck was I going to sleep?

The guy spoke up again. "Percy Jackson, I'm Luke Castellan, you're new head counselor. Welcome to Cabin Eleven." He stuck out his hand and I shook it firmly. This guy seemed fairly normal, well, as normal as demigods go.

"You'll be staying here for now." Ariana smiled. "Until you're claimed."

"Yeah…" I said. "How long does that normally take, exactly?" Everyone looked at me like I was stupid. I heard someone laugh and say "He had to ask Ariana about that." Someone sniggered at that comment. Whatever he meant by that, it wasn't nice because Ariana turned and shot them a hard glare. The sniggering stopped immediately.

"Well, it depends." Luke said awkwardly, looking around the room. "Sometimes it takes days, or weeks, or months." He looked down awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with anyone. "Or years." He mumbled.

"Oh." I looked down at my feet. I could be unclaimed for awhile.

Next to me, Annabeth groaned and mumbled something like "I can't believe I thought you could be the one." before turning and walking out of the crowded cabin. "Come on Percy! Gotta finish the tour." She said, a layer of irritation in her voice.

"You'll have to forgive Annabeth." Ariana smiled sweetly. "She's a little stressed."

"Okay." I mumbled before turning and reluctantly following her out. I didn't really want to go with her, but I was afraid of what she would do to me if I didn't.

When we got outside, Annabeth turned and faced me. She had a very serious lol on her face. "Claiming is a bit of a...sore subject in that cabin."

"Oh." I thought for a moment, and it made sense. That cabin had unclaimed demigods in it. Some of them have been here for much longer than me, and were still unclaimed. "Well, why were they all staring at me?"

"Why? Because you fought the Minotaur! Do you know how many demigods would kill for that chance?"

"Kill for the chance to be killed? Are you all crazy?"

"No! We just want to prove ourselves! Why do you think we train?"

"That wasn't the Minotaur from the stories though, because, he died like, a cagillion years ago, right?" I asked, very confused.

Annabeth face palmed. "That was the Minotaur, and yes he was killed years ago, but he came back."

"What? How is that possible?"

She looked at me like I was an idiot. "Monsters don't die Percy. They can be killed and sent back to Tartarus, but they reform after many years. Like your teacher, Mrs. Dodds. She turned out to be a Fury right? And you killed her? Well, she'll reform sometime, and come back."

"Oh, great." I said. "Wait, how do you know about Mrs. Dodds."

"You talk in your sleep. A lot."

Oooookkaayy then.

"How do you guys know that I'm like...like you?" I asked.

"You killed the Minotaur. That should be proof enough." She said it like it was obvious.

"But, I think you have the wrong guy! I'm, I'm no demigod. I nobody special." I looked down when I said this.

Annabeth's gray eyes softened. "You're dyslexic right? ADHD too?" I nodded my head. "You can't focus, sit still? You can never fit in anywhere? You can understand Greek, right?" I nodded again.

"It sounds like you know what I've been through." I said, looking at her quizzically.

"It's because I DO. I'm the same way, ADHD, dyslexic. But that's because our brains are made for Ancient Greek, and not English. That's why you can understand it better. Demigods are ADHD because we are hard wired for battle, to be always moving, fighting, not sitting still in some classroom. You're just like us " She said in such a convincing tone, that I was starting to believe her. The more she talked about, the more it made sense.

I stood there staring at her, trying to fit the puzzle pieces together. Suddenly, I heard a voice behind me.

"Huh. Fresh meat." The voice was gruff and deep. I couldn't tell if it belonged to a male or female. I turned and saw a buff, and I mean buff girl standing behind me. She had a pig like nose and an evil sneer. Her stringy brown hair was pulled up in a high ponytail.

"Go away Clarisse." Annabeth shot next to me.

Clarisse laughed menacingly. "Shut it Princess. We have to show the newbie how we initiate here at Camp Half-Blood." she snapped, glaring daggers at me.

"Percy. This is Clarisse. Daughter of Ares." Annabeth said next to me in a very edgy tone.

"The war god?" I asked.

"Yes Prissy." The girl sneered, putting her hands on her hips.

"Huh. Explains the ugliness…...and the smell." I shot back. Clarisse gave me a look that said it all. I was dead.

She walked up to me and grabbed my neck. Annabeth watched but did nothing, and I was okay with that. I was new here. I had to make a name for myself. Clarisse dragged me to a stone building that reeked of rust and sewage. The bathroom. The girl's bathroom to be exact. People watched us as we went, some sniggering, others shaking their heads.

She dragged me into the bathroom and straight to the first stall. The toilet was filled with murky water and reeked of well, toilet. She shoved me down on my knees and began to push my head towards the smelly basin. All I could think was this: Nu-uh. Not today.

Suddenly, I felt a strange rumbling in my stomach. My whole body seemed to be tingling with energy. I heard a loud groan from the plumbing and the ground shuddered beneath me. Suddenly, the toilet exploded.

Water shot everywhere, hitting Clarisse so hard that she fell over. Water hit the walls like a hose and flooded the ground. Everywhere was drenched, except for me. I was completely dry. I heard a bunch of voices and saw a group of girls enter the bathroom. They all had the same ugly faces as Clarisse. Her sisters. They glared at me, ready to fight.

Then, all of the other toilets exploded, hitting them with water just like Clarisse. Soon, the whole room was flooded in an inch of murky, toilet water. I got up and walked out of the bathroom, somehow, still completely dry.

There was a definitely a large group of campers surrounding the bathroom. Once again, they were staring at me. But now, their stares were filled with awe and amazement, not judgement and confusion.

Annabeth was in the middle of them, staring at me with her eyes wide. I walked straight up to her and smiled. She just shook her head.

"What?" I asked seriously. I had no idea what just happened. Had someone used their powers to help me? Was that magic back there? Whatever it was, it was definitely not me. "What?"

"Nothing, I just, want you on my team for capture the flag." She grinned.

 **Character of the Day- Circe, the sorceress**


	6. I Swear I Didn't Break the Toilet

**A new day, a new chapter. Thanks to all who read my story. I would love it if you could review, leave a comment, criticize, or PM me. I appreciate all feedback. Enjoy chapter six. Also, any guesses to Ariana's godly parent?**

 **Disclaimer- If you think I'm Rick Riordan, then you need to see a doctor,like now,**

Ariana II

I stared Percy with wide eyes. Murky bathroom water was spilling into the clearing from the girl's restroom. Clarisse came out soaking wet, screaming. "βάλλ' εἰς κόρακας!", which translated into "Throw yourself to the crows!" That's actually a way worse curse than it sounds. Two of her sisters were following her, spitting and glaring daggers in Percy's direction. They too were soaking wet.

The only one that was dry was Percy.

He walked up to Annabeth, who stood in the middle of the crowd of demigods, his face full of confusion. She, like the rest of us, were staring at him in awe.

"What?" He asked, looking at the crowd of oglers. He, along with the rest of us, didn't seem to process what was happening. "What?"

Annabeth looked the boy up and down, before finally resting her gray eyes on his green eyes. "Nothing." She said gingerly. "I just, want you on my team for capture the flag."

They stood there for a moment, their brilliant eyes locked together. Suddenly, I felt it. A spark. A tingling sensation in my gut and in my mind. These two had only known each other for about an hour, or so, but it seemed like they had known each other for years. There was something going on between them.

They just didn't know it yet.

Slowly, the crowd began to disperse. Demigods walked off in clumps, muttering things about toilet water and prophecies. Someone said something about "Big Three material.", and I groaned internally. I hate, hate, hate, prophecies.

I turned to walk away, but stopped when I heard Percy speak up. "Sorry about…...that." He mumbled to Annabeth.

"Whatever." She said coolly.

"Whatever happened, it wasn't my fault!" He whined.

Annabeth looked at him with calculating eyes. She was thinking the same thing that I was: It was his fault. Whatever had just happened, it had been because of him, not because of anyone else.

Who was his father?

"You need to talk to the Oracle." She piped up after a moment.

"Who?"

"The Oracle." She said. "I'll talk to Chiron."

She looked at me, turning slowly. "Can you, uh, take him? I need to go talk to a centaur about a mummy," she said awkwardly.

"No problem Annie!" I said with a light chuckle. She gave me a glare, but I could see a smile tugging at her lips. She punched me in the shoulder before starting up the hill, back towards the Big House. I laughed again.

Percy was staring at me. When I turned, his gaze faltered for a moment. I knew immediately it was because of my mismatched eyes. They always made people uncomfortable, but I didn't mind. I like it when people are scared of me.

"Why are you staring at me?" I asked him, tilting my head slightly.

"I just, well, she doesn't seem like an Annie." He shrugged, sheepishly grinning.

I smiled. "She's not. There are only two people who can call her that. Me and Luke, your head counselor."

"Oh…..why?" He asked.

"Well, when you've been through as much as we have….." I trailed off, looking away, afraid of my eyes tearing up.

He seemed to notice this, because he instantly looked guilty. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, no. It's fine." I said, waving my hand. "I'm sorry. Some things just don't need to be dug up."

He looked like he wanted to talk more, but I shot him a quick glance, and he dropped the subject. After an awkward moment, I looked up and gave him a smile. "Come on new boy. Let's go back to the cabin. It's almost time for dinner."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Fall in campers!" Luke hollered to the cabin. "Time for dinner!" I heard excited whoops and cries as people scrambled into a line behind look. I noticed Percy standing in the back of the room, sitting on his new sleeping bag, looking through his toiletries, which Luke had stolen, literally stolen, from the camp store. He held something in his hands. It was a large horn, in the shape of a crescent moon.

A Minotaur horn.

I walked over to him. "Impressive souvenir." He didn't look up, actually. I don't think he heard me. He was staring at the floor, completely out of it. Then, I had an idea. What's the best way to get a teenage boy's attention. Food. "Hey Percy. Time for dinner."

He looked up at me in surprise. "Sorry. I zoned out for a moment there."

"No need to apologize, man. Come on." I offered him my hand, and he took it, slowly pulling himself up. We got in the back of the line and followed as we all went out the door. Being ADHD, I couldn't stand silence, and I could tell Percy was the same way, so I decided to strike up a conversation on our way to the dining pavilion.

"So, how was your first day?" I asked, giving him a small smile.

He looked at me and shrugged. "It was…...rough. I woke up, and learned that my mom is , I learned that she wasn't. She is just in the underworld, but, that doesn't sound much better. I've never known this feeling, the feeling of being totally alone. It sucks." He looked at his feet, sadness brimming in his eyes.

"I know how you feel." I said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up at me with big, green eyes. "You do?"

"Yeah. I do." I took a breath, composing myself quickly. "I never knew my mother, or my father. I don't know which one is my godly parent. I grew up in foster care, bouncing from place to place. It was hard…." I trailed off, my voice getting quieter and quieter with every word.

He stared intently at me. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"Thanks." I murmured. "Well, other than that, how was your day?"

"I don't really know." He said honestly. "It's a lot to believe, you know? Gods and goddesses and satyrs and centaurs. It's hard to call them myths at one moment and then believe in them the next. It's, it's a lot to take in. And, I don't don't quite know if I fully believe it yet." He said the last part in a heavy voice, as if he thought it would offend me.

"Hey, it's okay. I was...we were all that way when we started." I told him. "But, when you do finally accept it, the rest of your crappy, evil filled life begins to make sense. Doesn't it?"

I could see in his eyes that he was thinking hard, contemplating my words. He was having an internal argument with himself, debating whether this place was real or fictional.

"Why do you people…..I mean, people like me, go to this camp, anyway?" He questioned.

"Because, well, it's the safest place for us. Out in the real world, demigods, we give off a type of scent. This scent attracts monsters. They hunt us down, find us, and try to kill us, make our lives terrible. Some demigods can survive out in the real world, children of Aphrodite or Demeter, children of the weaker gods. The monsters might ignore them. But generally, as soon as you hit 11 or 12 years old, the attacks get more frequent and more violent. That's when most of our campers show up."

"Why is this place safe? I mean, if demigods give off scents, shouldn't a bunch of demigods in one place be a disaster?" His expression was a puzzled one.

"You are right. A bunch of demigods together is a recipe for bad news. But, you see, Camp Half-Blood, is surrounded by magical borders, like a giant invisible shield. It keeps the smell in and the monsters out. That's why the dining pavilion has no roof. We don't worry about weather here. The borders keep all rain out. The only way weather gets in is if we let it." I tried to explain in as much detail as possible, but still tried to make it understandable.

Percy just nodded, soaking in my words. I looked out over the valley, taking in the beautiful view. Then, I ran into person in front of me, hitting them with a loud thud. Without me realizing it, our line had stopped moving. We had reached the dining hall. "Sorry George." I apologized to the boy I had run into. George, son of Hermes, a buff guy, about 18, simply grunted in reply.

The dining pavilion was on the top of a hill, overlooking the valley. It was an open air pavilion with a large marble floor, beautiful Greek columns, and no roof. There were fifteen tables set up, one for each cabin, one for nymphs, one for satyrs, and a head table. A large fire burned in a stone pit near the edge of the pavilion. A girl about nine tended the flames.

As usual, the Hermes table was absolutely packed. People were sitting halfway on the bench, halfway on the person next to them. Some of us sat with half of our butts hanging off the edge of the table. Fortunately, Luke and I had special seats at the ends of the table. They were actually just folding lawn chairs, but, compared to the seats everyone else had, they were pretty special.

Percy crammed onto the end of the bench next to me. I laughed quietly as I watched my cabin mates tried and squished people onto the seats. They might have been uncomfortable, but none of them showed it. They were laughing and joking with one another. Alison, an unclaimed demigod about 4 years older than me was screaming at Travis Stoll, who was holding something behind his back. It was her camp necklace.

"Travis!" I hollered. "Give Alison back her necklace." Travis's face went a bright shade of Crimson and he handed the leather necklace back to the screaming girl. Even though I was one of the youngest campers, they all listened to me. I had been coming to camp years before them.

I heard a loud Thwack! on the floor. I turned and saw the Chiron, now in centaur form, hitting his front hoof on the marble floor, a call to attention. He grabbed the bronze goblet next to him and raised it up high. "To the Gods!" He called.

All of the campers raised their glasses and followed suit.

On time, as usual, the wood nymphs came out, bring plates stacked high with foods from mouth watering roast beef to fresh apples. I could feel the saliva building up in my mouth. I picked up my goblet and mumbled "Frozen Strawberry Lemonade." The goblet filled with the pink, frosty treat. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Percy staring at his empty goblet, unsure of what to do.

"Tell it what you want." I explained. "It can make any drink appear- no alcohol allowed."

He nodded at his head. The, staring intently at his goblet, he said "Cherry Coke." The goblet fizzed with the brown soda. He looked at the goblet, and his eyes got wide, like He had just got a brilliant idea. He spoke again. " _Blue_ Cherry Coke."

Huh. Blue chocolate chip cookies and blue Cherry Coke. This guy had something for the color blue.

Percy and I loaded our plates full of brisket, roast beef, fruits, bread, and vegetables. Percy was about to take a huge bite when I coughed, loudly. People were walking towards the fire, scraping a portion of their meal into the flames. He looked at me quizzically.

"Their burning offerings for the gods." I told him. "They enjoy the smells."

He looked at me like I was stupid. I just shrugged and stood up, walking towards the fire. In my peripheral vision, I saw Percy scramble to his feet, following close behind me. In front of me, people were saying their parents names as they threw food into the fire, people were murmuring "Demeter" and "For Apollo" and things like that. I sighed sadly. I had no idea what name to say.

When it was my turn, I walked up to the flames. "Whichever one of you I belong to, please tell me. 10 years is long enough." I said, my voice barely above silent. I picked a large roll and tossed it into the flames.

Surprisingly, The fire never smelled like burning food. It smelled like chocolate and cupcakes, freshly mowed grass and blooming flowers, fresh bread in the oven, and many other things that shouldn't mix, but they did.

I saw Percy walk up to the fire and I heard him whisper "Whoever you are, please tell me. Send me a sign." and he tossed a piece of roast beef into the flames.

I felt a pang of sadness for him. I knew, I know how it feels being unclaimed. It sucks.

We sat down and ate our meal. I shoveled the food into my mouth, and before I knew it, my plate was empty. Apparently, Percy was just as hungry as I was, because so he too had an empty plate. I sat their, watching all of the campers in content. Suddenly, a voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"Ariana. I have a question for you." Percy spoke, leaning close to me. It was hard to hear over the noise of the meal.

"Shoot." I said.

"When the summer is over, where do you go? If it's not safe out there, where can you go?"

I thought for a moment. "Well, most of us go home for the school year, try to live as normally as possible. Those with mortal families tend to go back."

"What about you?" He asked.

"I am what you call a year-rounder." I explained. "For some of us, it is too dangerous to go back into the mortal world. Or, like me, you don't have a mortal family to go home to. So, you stay, all year round. You train, you make friends, and you try and learn the things that you would learn in a normal school from the Athena campers. Annabeth, Luke, Clarisse, and I are all year-rounders. Sometimes we take field trips, try and get a little outside experience. Last year, we went to Olympus."

I didn't mention that that was the first time that I had left camp in five years.

Percy looked like he was to fall over. "Th..the Olympus?" He stuttered, eyes wide.

"Yeah."

"Ho...how did you get there?" He looked fascinated.

"Uh, you take a bus into Manhattan, go to the Empire State Building, and take a special elevator to the sixth hundredth floor." I threw out casually.

His jaw almost touched the floor. "Olympus is….is...is on top of the EMPIRE STATE BUILDING?" I tried hard not to laugh at the dumbfounded expression he wore.

"Yeah."

"Okay then." He said skeptically. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of hoofbeats. Chiron was once again standing in the front of the dining pavilion.

"Now that that wonderful meal is complete, let us go to a camp fire!" He yelled.

Everyone cheered and stood up. They began to march down the hill towards the amphitheater, where our campfires were held. Percy and I walked in the back of the group. I could tell that there was something else he needed to ask me. He was just waiting to get the courage to do it.

Finally, he spoke up. "Ariana?"

"Mm-hm?" I looked at him, giving him a smile.

"When I was in the infirmary, I woke up a couple times."

"I'm aware." I mused. He chuckled.

"Well," he continued. "one of the times, when you weren't there, Annabeth said something to me. Something about the Summer Solstice. Do you know what that is about?"

I cursed in Ancient Greek. So he had remembered. Dang it Annabeth. By the look in Percy's eyes, I could tell that I could not talk my way out of this one. I had to tell him everything I knew.

"Right after we visited Olympus," I began, slowly. "The weather became all messed up, as if the gods were arguing. Annabeth and I listened to Chiron and Dionysus and the nymphs and the satyrs, trying to piece the story together. We came to one conclusion: something of great importance was stolen and it must be returned by the Summer Solstice. Or else."

He stared at me, studying my face. "Why does everyone keep asking if I am the one?"

I groaned. "Years ago, Luke was sent out on a quest. It..well...it didn't go too well. Ever since then, no quests have been allowed. Annabeth, she had been dying to go out on a quest. She bugged and pleaded with Chiron, begging for him to let her go. He said that there had been a prophecy about her. He never said the entire prophecy, but he said enough for us to know that Annabeth could not go on a quest until someone special came to camp." I explained. Then, ai shot him a look. "She really hopes that it's you."

"One last question. I promise!" He added the latter after I groaned. "Someone called me Big Three material earlier. What does that mean?"

I groaned again, this time even louder. "I hate prophecies." I grumbled.

He opened his mouth to speak, but didn't say anything. He seemed to have decided to drop the subject, for now. We were getting very close to the campfire when he said one last thing.

"I just want to say thank you." He looked deep into my eyes. "You've been so nice to me all day, even though I have been acting like an idiot. Thank you Ariana."

"Call me Ari." I said with a smile.

 **Character of the Day- the Laestrygonian Giant, a.k.a. A Canadian**


	7. That Actually Isn't a Tree

**Chapter seven guys! I hope you have all enjoyed this story so far. I would love a review or a PM. I can't really tell if people like this story or not, so I would appreciate a little feedback. Please enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer- I'm not Rick Riordan. I'm not nearly as evil.**

 **Percy IV**

Over the next few days, I seemed to fallen to a routine that seemed, well, normal. It was beginning to feel like a normal summer camp.

If normal summer camps had harpies that would eat you if you went out past curfew.

Every morning I would wake up and get dressed. Ari had managed to scrounge together a few outfits for me from the camps lost and found. Most of the clothes were old and a little too big, but I appreciated the gesture. She was so friendly.

Then, I would walk to the dining pavilion and eat breakfast with the rest of my cabin. We would fill our plates, and then go toss a portion of our meal in the fire as a sacrifice for the gods. At every meal, I said a silent plea to my father, begging for him to claim me. Nothing had happened yet. Ariana reassured me that this was normal. Most kids weren't claimed for a while. She never specified how long 'a while' was.

After breakfast, Annabeth would drag me out to the beach and give me lessons in Ancient Greek and mythology. She was right. Greek was easier to understand than English. But, coming from a kid with dyslexia, anything was easier to understand than English.

After our lessons, I joined the rest of Cabin Eleven for our activities. Every day it was something different from racing, to arts crafts, to rock climbing, to canoeing. Desperately, Chiron, Luke, Ari, and I tried to find something that I was good at. This was a harder task than it seemed.

Almost immediately, we figured out that I sucked at archery. Sucked. I let out my first arrow and almost decapitated Lee Fletcher, the head counselor of the Apollo Cabin. Chiron tried desperately to help me, but gave up eventually. Great! The most experienced teacher of heroes in all of history couldn't help me. I was a hopeless case. Ari had watched me the entire time, an amused smirk on her face.

Next, we tried arts and crafts. I sat next to Ari at a stone table in the craft house, watching as she easily made a clay bust of a man that looked suspiciously like Chuck Norris, which I thought was kind of cool. A satyr was trying to explain to me how to mold and sculpt, but I tuned him out. I hated art.

I didn't fair much better at foot racing. It was me against the Stoll brothers, and they left me eating their dust. I mean, it was pathetic.

And wrestling? Sheesh. Don't even get me started on that. Two seconds in, and the Ares campers had me pinned. They were still a little mad about what had happened to Clarisse in the bathrooms, even though I had no idea _still_ what had happened.

The only thing I could do without epicly failing was boating. Apparently, I could canoe quite well. Wow! What a great quality in a hero,right? It's like 'Hey! A monster is attacking you. You can't run, can't wrestle it down, or shoot it with a volley of arrows, but you can paddle it to death! Have fun!'

Great.

Note my sarcasm.

Ariana, Annabeth, Luke, and all the other experienced campers kept close eyes on me at all times, trying to find out who my father was. They had absolutely no idea.

On a good note, though, all of the rest of the drama surrounding me had died down. People no longer stared at me, whispering things under their breath. They just walked right on past me, like I was just some normal camper. I can't say that I minded that. I actually kind of enjoyed being part of the crowd. I was finally blending in.

Unfortunately, that feeling did not last long.

After three days, I finally had my first lesson in the art of sword fighting. Ariana led me out to the arena, and began to show me the basic techniques. She moved with incredible speed and grace, carefully moving her sword, stepping back and forth. Slash, stab, jab, step, slash again. She had me practice on straw dummies in full Greek battle armor. I didn't think I was doing too well, but Ari told me that I had good reflexes, which was the best thing I had heard all week.

The only issue was, none of the swords felt right in my hands, they were too short, too long, too heavy, too light. I felt like Goldilocks.

If Goldilocks had been looking for a deadly weapon instead of a bed.

We rejoined our cabin mates just as Luke began to split them up in dueling pairs. Apparently, he was the sword fighting instructor. Who knew! After everyone else had been paired off, he came over to Ariana and I, a smile on his face.

I heard someone snort behind me. I turned to see Travis smiling crazily at me. "Good luck." he said.

"Why?'

His younger brother, Connor snorted. "Luke and Ariana are the best swordsman and swordswoman in camp." He said it in a 'Duh!' tone, like it should have been obvious.

"Seriously?" They didn't seem like they would be the best. I figured those titles belonged to children of Athena or Ares.

"Oh yeah. We never know which one of them is going to win." Connor said, embellishing the never.

"Yeah. It keeps things spicy." Travis added with a smirk. The two turned and walked away, leaving me to stand there, dumbfounded.

They were the best two in camp? And Ariana can beat Luke?

I turned and stared at the duo. It didn't look like there would be any contest between the two. Luke was a tall guy, about 6'2, and was very, very muscular. He was nineteen years old, and had been here for five years. According to Annabeth, the number of beads on someone's necklace equaled the number of years they had been at camp.

Ariana, compared to Luke, was itty bitty. She was about 4'7 and was super skinny, but, taking a closer look at her, I realized that she was incredibly muscular. Her legs were toned and her arms well defined. She was actually strong. But, Ari was only ten years old, two years younger than me. Then, I notice one other thing about her that I had not noticed before. It was her necklace.

It had five beads on it, just as many as Luke. Just as many as Annabeth. They had all arrived in the same summer. Luke had been fourteen, Annabeth had been 7, and Ari, she had been five during her first summer. Five years old. She had told me that most campers arrive when they are twelve or eleven. Why had she come so early?

"Percy!" a deep voice brought me back to reality. Luke was looking at me, holding two wooden swords. Ari stood next to him, a smile on her face. She waved me over with her left hand. I walked up timidly. If what the Stolls had said about them was true, I was about to get schooled.

"Normally, Ari and I spar together," he said, casting an amused glance in her direction. She shook her head and stuck out her tongue. "But since you're new, I'll be your partner."

He handed me one of the wooden swords. I held it gingerly in my right hand. This one felt way too short. He began to teach moves to me, the hard way. Every move, I felt a new bruise form. He yelled instructions to me as he moved. "Step back!" Wham! He hit me in the gut. "Go right!" Boom! Flat of the sword to the ribs. Any hope I had had of him going easy on me disappeared.

After about 30 minutes of sparring…...no. More like 30 minutes of Luke making an idiot out of me, he called for a break. I was absolutely drenched in sweat and has bruises forming everywhere. This was the most exhausted I had ever felt in my whole life. Ariana was standing at a small table in the corner of the arena, filling little plastic cups with water. Luke picked one up and dumped it all over his head. That looked like a good idea.

I walked over and picked up a cup, dumping all of it on top of my black hair. Suddenly, I felt amazing. My exhaustion seemed to disappear. I didn't notice all the bruises. The sword felt good in my hands. I felt amazing.

After about five minutes of resting, hydrating, and Alison yelling at the stoles, Luke called us all into one big circle. He grabbed my shoulder and steered me out into the middle. Great. He was going to exploit my bad swordfighting skills. What fun.

"I'm going to use Percy here for a demonstration." he told them. I could tell that all of them were trying not to laugh out loud. They all knew what was going to happen, and they were waiting to watch him beat the crap out of me. "I'm going to show a disarming technique. You twist the enemy's blade with the flat of yours and they have no choice but to drop it to the ground. It has taken me years to master this technique. Ariana is the only other person at this camp that knows how to do it and deflect it."

Everyone turned and stared at her for a moment. She smiled sheepishly, blushing all the way up to her ears. Luke coughed, bringing everyone's attention back to him. He demonstrated how to do this move in slow motion, and my sword went clanging to the ground.

"Now we'll do it for real, until one of us pulls it off." I heard Connor laugh and Luke shot him a glare. He gave me a look, and I nodded. Ready for him. Then, he came at me. Almost magically, I kept him away from getting close to the hilt of my sword. I counterattacked, thrusting my blade towards him. He gave me a look of shock, and then narrowed his eyes and began to fight back with even more force.

All of the sudden, my energy drained. I felt the bruises and the sword got heavy and awkward in my hands. I was about to lose. So I decided, as a Hail Mary, to try the disarming technique. I thrust towards him, hitting the hilt of his sword. Then, with my full weight, I pushed downwards. His sword fell out of his hands and onto the dirt ground with a resounding 'Clang!'

Everyone went dead quiet. They stared at me with wide eyes. Luke looked at me in shock. Ariana just smirked and shook her head. How had I done that? Truthfully, I had no idea.

I couldn't stand the awkward silence. "Well, sorry about that." i said sheepishly.

Luke's stunned face broke into a huge grin. "Sorry? Sorry? Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!"

I really didn't want to. I knew that that had just been a miracle, but Luke was persistent. Finally, I agreed to try again. This time, it wasn't even close. My sword was on the ground within three seconds.

Somebody from the crowd called "Beginner's luck?"

Ariana chuckled, stepping into the middle of the circle, eyeing me with her mismatched gaze. "Possibly." she said. 'But I wonder what he could do with the right sword."

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Later that afternoon, I sat with Grover on the beach, looking out into the ocean. Finally, I got the stones to ask him a question I had been desperately wanting to know an answer to.

"Why were you sent to protect me Grover?" i asked him timidly.

He looked at me with a smile. "Because that's what satyrs do, Perce. Most of us, we're called Keepers. We go around the country, sniffing out demigods, watching them, making sure they don't die, and bring them safely to camp."

I looked at him, studying his face. He looked like a normal teenage guy, but in reality, he was so much more. He was half man, half goat. Apparently, he wasn't even a teenager. He was like, thirty, but that was the goat equivalent of about 14. "Oh. How many half-bloods have you found so far?"

"Oh, well, uh, counting you, five." he said, slowly. "The first time…..it didn't go so well. I found four demigods all together and…..not all of them made it." he said the last part so quietly that I almost didn't hear him. Someone had died? Wow. I wanted to ask him more questions, but I could tell by the look on his face that he did not want to talk about it anymore, so I decided to change the subject.

"Do you like being a Keeper?" I ask. Dang it Percy! Grover just said that someone had died and you asked him if he liked it. You are an idiot.

Surprisingly though, Grover just shrugged. "It's okay. It's pretty boring most of the time, but I don't want to do it forever. I want to be a Searcher."

"Why can't you be a searcher?" Whatever that is.

"Because I need to fully complete a Keeper assignment and I've only had two...and the first one…" he trailed off. After a moment, he shook his head, as if clearing his thoughts. "Well, like I said, i need to complete a Keeper assignment."

"Didn't you do that when you brought me here?" I asked confused.

He just shook his head. "Mr.D hasn't decided if that counts as a success. I mean, you barely made it out alive and your mom…." he looked at me awkwardly. I frowned. My mom was not dead, but she was in the underworld, which did not seem like a very good place.

"Well, I hope he decides that it was a success." I said honestly. "I think you deserve it G-man." i used the nickname I had given him at Yancy a few months ago. He smiled lightly at this, but then whispered to himself again.

"Tell that to Thalia."

I tried to make him feel better. We talked about sword fighting and my cabin mates, when I finally asked him about why the Cabins One and Three were empty.

"I mean, didn't Zeus and Poseidon have like, zillions of demigod kids in the old days?" I argued.

Grover looked unhappy. "After World War II, the Big Three agreed not to have any more demigod children. After all, they were the reason the war started. It was children of Zeus and Poseidon against the children of Hades. Hades was on the losing side. After that, they swore an oath on the River Styx that they would have no more demigod children."

Thunder clapped.

"Oh." I said. "And they kept their word?"

He shook his head. "Almost seventeen years ago, he had a daughter, Thalia, with a mortal woman. When you swear an oath on the Styx, it's serious. If you break the oath, you die. But, since Zeus is immortal, he got let off, and Thalia was given the punishment."

"But, that's awful. It wasn't her fault!" I protested.

"Children of the Big Three are stronger than other demigods. They give off such a strong scent that monsters can find them from miles and miles away. Hades learned that Zeus had broken his promise, and sent all of his worst monsters after her. She ran into a few other half-bloods, and they all helped each other. A satyr was sent to escort them to camp. They almost made it all the way. They had made it to the top of Half-Blood Hill." I looked over to the tallest hill in the valley, the one with the large pine tree on it.

"All of the Furies and a pack of hellhounds were hot on their trail. When it seemed like they were going to die, Thalia told the satyr to bring the rest of the half-bloods to safety. He...he didn't want to, but she refused to let him stay. The other demigods wanted to stay and fight, but she finally forced them away. Thalia ended up defeating all of the monsters, taking a stand, all alone at the top of the hill. But, in the end, she died. Her father felt sorry for her as he watched her slip away, and he decided turn her into the pine tree that sits atop the hill. Her spirit is what powers our magic broders. She is the reason we call it Half-Blood Hill."

I stared at my feet. This girl, Thalia, had chosen to save her friends rather than herself. She had selflessly given her life for them. Next to that, my defeat of the Minotaur seemed like child's play.

Then, I had a scary thought. "Grover, you said that you sniffed me out, even from far, you still found me. Monsters, they have found me my entire life. They come from all over, just to get at me."

Grover's eyes got really wide, realizing what I was saying. He immediately shook his head. "No, Percy. No. You're not, you can't…...no. You are most likely a child of Hermes, or one of the minor gods. No."

He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, and not me.

We sat there in an awkward silence for a few minutes until a horn sounded. It was the horn that signaled a switch of activities. It was now rec time.

"Come on." Grover said, standing up. "We need to get ready for dinner. And capture the flag."

 **Character of the day- Nancy Bobofit**


	8. We All Ignore the Flag

**Here re is chapter eight! A huge, huge thanks to all those who read my story, reviewed it, criticized it, and PMed me. You guys are what make me want to write. I hope you like this new chapter. Any guesses to Ari's parent?**

 **Disclaimer- If you think I am Rick Riordan, he will personally come to your house and smack you.**

 **Annabeth** **II**  
Now, I've never been to a normal mortal summer camp, so I have nothing to go off of here. But, I am going to assume that no other camp I the world does Friday nights like Camp Half-Blood. In fact, if they did do it like Camp Half-Blood, they would be shut down. Immediately.

Because, on Friday nights, we play the most intense games of Capture the Flag that you will ever see.

My cabin, the Athena cabin, held the record for the most wins in a row. Sadly though, the Ares Cabin had won last week's game, and therefore held the winner's laurels.

Gods, I hated that ugly cabin.

Tonight, though, I had a feeling that my team was going to win. I mean, sure. I always had that feeling, but it was different today. Today wasn't just a gut feeling. I was absolutely sure. And I will tell you the one reason why.

Percy Jackson.

Ari had been watching him all week, doing different activities, trying new things. She would analyze what he did and report everything back to me. And when I said everything, I meant everything. Ariana had a photographic memory. She could remember every single thing that has ever happened to her before.

Anyway, she had watched him the whole time, finding his strengths and weakness. She told me that he was kind of fast, but not really, he couldn't shoot an arrow to save his demigod behind, he was was an amazing canoer, and he had skills with a sword that rivaled her and Luke.

That was impressive.

I stood in front of my cabin, holding our banner, or flag, for the game. The two cabins that were the captains for the game got to be in charge of the banners, and got to choose what they looked like. Ours was about ten feet long, bright gray, and had a large painting of an owl on it. It was beautiful and graceful.

The Ares cabin's banner was a bright, awful red decorated with a blood soaked spear and a boar's head. I thought that it was just plain ugly.

My older brother, Malcolm, stood next to me, going over our plan, out loud. "So, we are allied with Hermes and Apollo for tonight. Ares has Demeter, Aphrodite, Dionysus, and Hephaestus. Right?" He looked at me, making sure that he had all of his facts straight. I gave him a nod. He smiled. "Good. I think we have a chance."

"So do I." I smiled. Suddenly, we heard a loud horn coming from the dining pavilion. This was our signal enter the dining hall. All of the other campers were already there, finishing dinner. Malcolm and I had left early to grab our banner, and well, make a grand entrance

"You ready girl?" Malcolm looked at me with a sly smile.

"Oh yeah." I said, grabbing the banner and taking off, sprinting up the hill. Our flag billowed in the winds. The setting sun reflected onto the gray banner, making it look as if it was made of starlight. I kept a small smile on my face as I went, trying to look excited, but competitive at the same time. Needless to say, I had this look down.

As we approached the dining pavilion, I heard the sounds of about a hundred campers chatting quietly. Then, as we ran in, the entire space was flooded with cheers. The Ares cabin ran in across from us, waving their red banner in the air. People whooped and screamed and yelled like banshees. Guys were banging on their chests and girls were pumping their fists. Let's just say, Capture the Flag was a big deal here

"Now, as you all know, tonight is Capture the Flag night." Chiron said, silencing the crowd. "Currently, the Ares Cabin holds the winner's laurels." A loud, deep cheer rang out from the middle of the pavilion. Chiron stamped his hoof, making them be quiet. "As I was saying,, the rules are all the same. The creek is the border, and the whole forest is fair territory. The banner must be obvious, and have maximum of two guards. And remember, no killing or maiming, Clarisse." The centaur glared at the girl while the rest of the camp snickered. "Armor up Camp!"

He spread his arms wide, and the plates all disappeared. They were instantly replaced by piles of armor, shields, helmets, and celestial bronze weapons.

Ah yes. The celestial bronze. Harmless to mortals, and deadly to monsters. Sadly, demigods, being half mortal and immortal, could be killed by normal, mortal weapons, and celestial bronze weapons.

I walked over to the Hermes table, grabbing my armor from the Athena table as I went. As I neared the overcrowded table, I saw Ari and Luke fitting Percy with armor. They had already given him a bronze breastplate and Luke was now trying to find a shield for the boy.

"Hey guys!" I said, smiling at Ariana. She was wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a gray tank top. Her midsection was covered in a shiny, bronze breastplate with a picture of a drakon on it. Her long,curly brown hair was pulled into French braided pigtails. A silver helmet with a blue plume was tucked under her arm. A shiny, sharp sword hung at her side. It was called _o_ _Daímonas_ , The Demon.

Luke stood next to her, looking as composed as ever. His blonde hair was disheveled, but in a neat, 'I did it on purpose' kind of way. His sword hung at his side and his bronze armor was etched with a caduceus, the symbol of Hermes. When he turned and looked at me, and my heart did a little flutter. He gave me a smile, and my heart did a little flutter. I just couldn't help it. I had a crush on the guy. He was beautiful, with his big blue eyes and his defined chin, and bulging muscles…..Woah Annabeth. Slow Down there.

"Hi Annabeth." Percy mumbled, snapping me out of my thoughts. I tried to stifle a laugh as I looked at his appearance. His breastplate was about three sizes too big. The shield he was given looked as if it was weighing him down. His helmet, which also had a blue plume, like all the rest of the campers on Athena's side, fell down in front of his eyes, making him look like a little kid wearing their parents clothing.

"Hi." I nodded curtly. I turned my attention to the two advanced campers next to him. "Luke,you'll be part of attack team Delta. Ariana, watch crew Omega, with me. Okay?" They both nodded, checking all of the straps on their armor.

"What about me?" Percy asked in a quiet voice. I looked him up and down. He wasn't much, pretty scrawny and not too tall. He would have a hard time winning in a fight, now, I'll admit, he had some skill with a blade, but it was still only his fourth day here. He wasn't ready to be in the thick of it yet. I had to give him an easy job. Or, that was what I told Luke, anyway.

"Border patrol." I said flatly. "Stand by the creek, keep enemies away, try not to hurt yourself." He looked a little crestfallen, and it was only then that I realized how harshly I had spoked. I felt bad, but said nothing. This boy needed to learn his place.

After a few more minutes of adjusting armor, stretching, and yelling over weapons, we were finally ready to begin. I walked over to the Athena table, which was on the edge of the pavilion, and stood on the table, kicking extra helmets and weapons out of the way. "Blue team!" I yelled. The space instantly went silent. I was only twelve, but everyone here respected me. I was the head counselor of the Athena cabin.

"Tonight, we are going in strong, and fighting until the end. We are going out there, and leaving it all out on the line. Fight like you've never fought before, and we will pull through. Blue Team, move out!" I raised my bronze knife in the air, and the rest of the crowd followed me, raising their swords, shields, and fists in the air, hooting and hollering.

Wow. I was good at battle speeches.

With grace, I jumped off the table and marched off towards the southern half of the woods, the rest of the blue team following close behind me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the red team moving into the north. A new wave of energy coursed through me, giving me a new boost of confidence.

As we entered the woods, we hit the creek, which marked the border between the red and blue sides. I stopped my marching. I turned and watched as the troop stopped in a ripple. "Border patrol! Break off here. Spread yourselves out along the entire creek line. The rest of you, follow me."

I turned and began to march again, but not before I saw Percy step out of line. He looked slightly sad, probably because of his lame position. But, what he didn't know was that he was the main part of my battle plan.

Athena always has a plan.

Here it was: Clarisse is the only reason the Ares team won. She was a menace. She fought with an electric spear, a gift that she received personally from her father. Anyone who faced her one on one usually ended up in the hands of the battlefield medic. So, the only way to win is to get her distracted. Cue Percy.

I know that she, and the rest of her cabin mates were still upset with Percy for, well, making Clarisse look like an idiot. I know that she will personally seek him out and get some revenge of her own, regardless of whether it was against the rules or not. While she was focused on Percy, my team would steal the flag.

Essentially, Percy was the pawn. And he didn't even know it.

We marched deep into the woods and chose a spot to put our banner. We decided to put it on top of Zeus's Fist, which is the name we gave to a cluster of rocks in the middle of a clearing in the woods. It was the perfect place to put the flag because it was only accessible in one way: by climbing up. If you just put two guards by the base of the rock, nobody could get up there.

My brother Malcolm came up next to me. "Attack group Delta, you're with me. Watch Crew Omega, you're with Annabeth. Roll out!" He yelled in a deep voice. The troop split into two separate groups. Hermes campers and half of the Athena cabin went with Malcolm. The Apollo campers and the other half of my brethren came to me. I gave Malcolm a small salute as he marched off, taking his group with him.

Quickly, my own group formed a semicircle around me. I looked at all of them with analyzing eyes. "Okay." I announced. "We are the watch group, which means that half of us are staying on this side of the creek, fighting off the enemy. The other half will go to the other side, keeping them distracted. Think you can handle it?" Everyone nodded eagerly, ready to start.

"Alright. Lee, you're on this half of the creek." The son of Apollo nodded. "You have Michael, Julia, Kathryn, Damion, Andrea, Chris, Rodney, and Lila." There were a few whoops and hollers, and a lone 'but, I was on this side last time.' I rolled my eyes. Lee gave me a million dollar smile, and walked over to Zeus's Fist, beckoning his team to follow him.

"Alright, Chad, Gianna, Leon, Bobby, Nikki, Connie, Gabriella, Ariana and Hayden. You guys are on my team. And we're going across the border." I said it as if it was a big reward, and they acted as if it was. Nikki and Connie high fived. Hayden gave me a toothy grin. Ariana nodded knowingly. She was in on my plan.

Suddenly, we heard a loud noise. The sound of a giant gong.

The game had started.

"Move out!" I yelled, charging forwards through the the woods, back to the creek, towards the border line. I jumped over fallen trees and rocks, skirting around thorn bushes and running right through puddles. When I was fighting, I was in my element.

Without bothering to look down, I ran right into the creek. Ariana was running right alongside me, matching me stride for stride. She was incredibly fast. Her sword was in her right hand. I looked and saw my own bronze knife in my left hand. As opposed to her, I preferred fighting with my knife. I enjoyed the thrill of getting close to my enemy.

I patted my sweatshirt pocket, underneath my silver armor. That was where I kept my secret weapon. A blue Yankees cap. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. What's so special about a baseball cap? Well, it's not just any old cap. As soon as you put it on, you turn absolutely invisible, clothes and all. My mom had given it to me as a gift.

Before I knew it, I was in enemy territory, Ariana beside me, my team hot on our trail. I looked around.

We had just entered a clearing of short cut grass. It was surrounded by trees and boulders, like an arena. But sadly, it was deserted. Our job as the attack team is to distract the Reds, so our team could steal the flag. You can't distract people if there aren't any people to distract!

Then, suddenly, it wasn't deserted anymore.

A loud horn sounded, and reds began to swarm. They came out from every direction, screaming, and cursing, and waving their weapons in the air. To a mortal, this would have been chaos. But, for a demigod, it was manageable.

Thanks to the ADHD.

The reasons demigods had ADHD was because our brains and bodies were always ready for battle. We couldn't sit still.

The first red came at me with a large sword in his hand. I quickly stepped out of the way, causing him to run past me. Angrily, he turned around and spat. He swung his sword clumsily and I blocked it with ease. This was obviously a Hephaestus camper, good with making weapons, and bad at using them. Quickly, I turned and hit him in the gut with the hilt of my knife. He stumbled back and fell on his butt. One down.

I whirled around and began to fight like crazy, hitting people with the hilt of my knife and disarming them and kicking them down. People around me were dropping like flies, falling and tripping and getting pushed down. It was impressive.

But the most impressive part was Ariana. She fought like a whirlwind, stabbing, slashing,mucking, dodging, spinning, and stepping. Everyone else seemed to slow down when they got close to her, like an invisible wall was pushing them back.

When I finally caught a break, I looked around and came to a happy realization. Clarisse and her goons were nowhere to be found. They had taken the bait. We had a chance!

After a few more minutes of fighting, I heard a loud howl from the border. I turned wildly to look for the source of the noise. Apparently, Ari had heard it too, because she stopped whatever she was doing, and turned to look. She gave me a confused glance. I shrugged my shoulders.

Then, we heard it again, this time even louder and more strained. Now I was starting to get worried. Ariana looked at me again, her face etched with worry. After a moment of consideration, I gave her a nod, and we ran out of the clearing, towards the source of the noise. I trusted my team to hold off the reds. It was time to investigate.

We ran until we hit the edge of the woods, where the creek divides it in half. "The sound is coming from…...oh my gods Annabeth." Ariana said, pointing towards the creek. I jogged over to her and looked where she was pointing. When I saw it, my heart stopped.

Clarisse and four of her goons were fighting someone. That someone was Percy, and he was getting his demigodly but whooped. I cringed as Clarisse charged at him, nailing him square in the chest with her electric spear. Her ugly brother came at Percy and sliced his arm open. Percy's face was filled with pain, from being electrocuted, cut, and beat. He looked a little dizzy from the sight of his own blood, and that is when it hit me.

I was the reason he was hear, getting pulverized. I had been so focused on winning that I hadn't thought about what could happen to Percy.

Clarisse shoved him into the creek, making him fall on his butt. This was getting hard to watch. I had the urge to run out and help him, but I felt a firm hand keeping me in place.

"No, Annie." Ari calmed me. "He needs to do this himself. He will be okay." I shot her a sceptical glance, but the look in her mismatched eyes told me that she knew what she was talking about. Reluctantly, I stayed put, watching the fight.

When I turned around though, I was confused at what I saw. Percy was standing in the creek, but he didn't look exhausted or in pain. He looked…..energized, like he had just taken a double shot of espresso. And his arm….my gods. His cut was completely healed! It was barely a scratch now.

What…..?

The five Ares campers walked into the creek to get Percy, but he didn't shrink away. He stood his ground, his sword raised. He hit the first guy with the flat of his sword and sent him sprawling to the ground. Then, Percy hit one guy in his face with his shield, knocking him back, and sliced of the other boy's red horse hair plume. The fourth guy stood still in the creek, a nervous look on his face.

Then, I saw Clarisse, her face red with anger. She charged Percy, her spear crackling with electricity. "Aaah!" She screamed as she ran. She thrust at Percy, but he caught her spear between his shield and his sword. With one swift turn, her spear snapped in half.

"Damn!" Ariana yelped beside me. I couldn't blame her. That was amazing. He broke Clarisse's spear!

"Ah! You idiot! You stupid, corpse-breath!" Clarisse howled in range, clutching her broken spear in her hands. Then, Percy slammed the butt of his sword in between her eyes, and she fell backwards.

I stared at him in utter disbelief. What had just happened?

Suddenly, a group of people burst through the woods, running into the creek, screaming and yelling. Luke was in the front of the crowd, waving the red team's banner in the air. The Hermes campers flanked him, fighting off reds. As soon as they crossed into friendly territory, our entire side exploded into cheers.

We won! We freakin' won!

Ari let go of me and we ran out to join the celebration, but I didn't go to Luke. I went to Percy.

"Hey. Nice job." I smiled, patting his shoulder. He looked at me, and his eyes flashed with anger.

"You used me!" He yelled. "You knew Clarisse would attack me. I was your pawn!"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I always have a plan."

"A plan to get me killed."

"Well, Ariana and I were watching, and we were going to attack, but it looked like you had it handled." I smiled. Then I thought of what had just happened, and a question popped into my mind. "Hey, how did you heal your arm?"

He looked down at his arm, and then back at me, his eyes full of shock. "What? I didn't ...I was…..what?" He stuttered wildly.

Just then, Ariana ran up to us, a stern look on her face. She seemed to be focusing hard. Her eyes trailed from Percy, to his cut, to the creek, to Clarisse's spear. Finally, she spoke. "Step out of the water, Percy."

He was about to protest, but Ari interrupted. "No. Just do it."

As soon as he stepped out, he got weak. His head drooped and his knees buckled. I lurched forward and caught him, before he hit the ground.

"Well, Styx." Ari grumbled.

Suddenly, I realized what she meant. This was a sign. He was important. Before I could speak though, I was interrupted by a rude growling. I looked up to see a hellhound standing on the bank behind us. A HELLHOUND!

Chiron bolted into the arena, in full centaur form, bow raised. "Archers ready! My bow!" He called. All of the Apollo campers and Ariana pulled out their bows and notched their arrows.

I looked over to see Percy, frozen with fear. His eyes were locked with the blood red ones of the hellhound. Suddenly, it lunged, straight at him. I tried to push him out of the way, but I was too slow. It leaped on top of Percy and began to rake his chest.

"Fire!" Chiron yelled. There was a loud zipping sound, like paper being ripped, and forty arrows sprouted from the beasts neck. With a bowl of rage, the monster turned into a pile of sand.

I ran over to Percy, where he lay bleeding on the ground. " _Di_ _immortales_!" Ariana yelled, following me. His face and hands were bleeding and his leg was bent in a strange direction. "He's wounded."

"Yes. Yes he is. We must get him to the infirmary." Chiron said sternly, but I shook my head.

"No. He needs to get in the creek." I said.

Luke ran up to us, his face confused. "The creek? Why?"

"Just trust me." With Ariana's help, we helped Percy up and walked him into the shallow water. He looked instantly stronger, his cuts disappearing. All of the sudden, a blue shape appeared above his head.

It was the holographic image of a green trident, spinning in the air.

My gods.

Percy looked up in alarm just as the image disappeared.

"This is really not good." Ariana murmured next to me. "His father….."

All around us, people were kneeling, looking at Percy with wide eyes. Ariana and I knelt beside Chiron, our breathing shaky.

"My father?" Percy asked, completely and utterly confused.

"Poseidon!" Chiron yelled. "The Earthshakers, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God!"

This was not good.

 **Character of the day: Gabe**


	9. I've Never Been in Here Before

**Here is the next installment. I hope you like this and all of my other chapters. I would really love a review or a PM, to keep the creative juices flowing. Please enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer- See all of the rest of my freakin chapters!**

Percy V

I never wanted this. I never asked to be who I am. I never asked, or for that matter wanted, to be this powerful demigod. I had absolutely no control over who I Was. So, you think people would cut me some slack right?

Absolutely wrong.

Last night, I had been claimed by my father. He was Poseidon, Lord and God of the Seas. Everyone had looked at me with a mixture of anxiety, fear, and a little bit of hatred. But, there was another emotion etched into their faces, one that would be barely visible at just one glance, but if you stopped and looked, it was there. They all wore a look of pity. They pitied me!

Well, all accept Ariana. She just knelt there in front of me, hands planted on her hips, and a smirk on her face, shaking her head in an "I knew it!" way. It looked as if she had been expecting this to happen. Right now, though, I was too concerned with other things than why she had known who my father was.

I looked all around me, seeing everyone kneeling. Dryads, nymphs, satyrs, demigods, and…..even Chiron. They were bowing, to me, like I was some sort of important person, even though I was the exact opposite. Suddenly, I noticed that they were all staring at me. I felt my cheeks get hot, and blushed all the way to my ears. Tentatively, I stepped out of the creek, but this time, unlike the other time I left the creek, my healing wasn't reversed. My energy was still there. In fact, it was stronger than before. My cuts and bruises had been reduced to tiny scratches on my body, but even those were already fading.

Right at that moment, my entire life seemed to make sense, like when you find the last piece of the puzzle. My love for the beach and all things blue, my swimming talents, Nancy falling into the fountain, almost as if the water had pushed her in, the toilets exploding on Clarisse, the creek giving me energy. It all fit together now. I had done all of those things. I had controlled the water, that was why Ari and Annabeth said that it was my fault! It had all been my fault.

Everyone knelt, frozen in place, for a few moments, until Chiron gently stood up, motioning for everyone else to follow suit. He looked at me with large, brown eyes. He stroked his wiry beard with his left hand, giving him the look of being deep in thought. Ari stood next to him, still smirking. Annabeth was on Ari's left, her eyes huge and most slightly agape. I couldn't read her expression very well, but I thought it was somewhere in between "Holy Crap!"and "I hate you." I looked away quickly. To her left stood Luke, the winning banner in his hand completely forgotten. His blue eyes gazed at me with admiration and focus, but another emotion, which I could barely make out, laid underneath. Anger. Luke, Luke was angry at me. Why? What had I done?

"Well Percy." Chiron said in a deep, authoritative tone. "I think a change of cabins is in order! Miss Morusso, would you be so kind as to show Percy to his new home?" He shot a gentle smile to Ari, which she returned with an excited nod.

"Come on Perce." She gave me a small smile, gesturing me forward towards her. I shot Chiron a look of sincere gratitude and walked up to the girl. Without a word, she turned and walked away from the creek, and I followed her, leaving all of the crowd behind.

We marched in silence for a few minutes. Every once in awhile I would shoot her a glance, only to look away before she could notice. Because of my ADHD, O found this nearly unbearable. I had to say something, but what?

"You'll be staying in Cabin Three." Ari said, eliminating my need to strike up a conversation. "The Poseidon cabin. You'll be the first one ever to stay there, you know?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I feel like it should be some, great honor, or something, but it's not." I murmured, glumly.

"I understand what you mean." She gave me a gentle, reassuring smile. "Things just started to die down. You finally started blending in, making friends. And now….." Her voice trailed off, and she looked away, afraid to show me the emotion in her eyes.

My head drooped. Grover had begun to freak out when I mentioned the possibility of being a child of the Big Three. He had instantly denied it, his eyes full of fear. But now, it wasn't just a possibility. It was real.

"I'm the first child of the Big Three, in like, five years, right? That girl, the daughter of Zeus, Thalia right?" I asked, thinking about the story Grover had told me. 'Zeus is immortal, so Thalia was given the punishment." He had said.

As soon as I said this, Ariana stiffened. She stopped in her tracks and clutched her camp necklace, fingering one of the beads. Her breathing got really loud and her blue and brown eyes stared off absently into space, like she was reliving a memory. Her hands shook violently.

"Ari, are you okay?" I asked nervously, worried about the ten year old girl.

"I won't leave you…..no." She gasped loudly. Frantically, she grabbed at the leather necklace and began to finger a clay bead, the one with the pine tree on it. Her eyes were glazed and emotionless, as if she was in a trance of sorts. "No!" She screamed.

"Ariana!" I yelled. "Are you okay?"

Her head snapped up and her eyes cleared. "Oh, ye..yes." She said, attempting to steady her trembling voice. She held on to the bead for a moment more before catching my gaze and stuffing her shaking hand in her pocket.

"Are you sure?" I wasn't convinced.

"I said I'm fine!" She snapped loudly, glaring at me. I took a startled step back. I have known her for almost a week now, and I hadn't even seen her get angry. When she saw my alarmed look, her gaze softened. She dipped her head down, avoiding my eyes. "Sorry. I'm just…..reliving a painful memory." She muttered the latter in a tone that was barely audible.

"Oh, sorry." I mumbled sheepishly. I was unsure of what I had said to trigger her, but something had.

"No matter." She said, grinning slightly. She waved her hand dismissively. "Yes. You are the first child of the Big Three in…..a while."

"That's not a good thing, right?" I looked at her with questioning eyes. She chuckled lightly, shaking her head, causing her braids to swing back and forth.

"Well, " Ariana sighed, "it's complicated."

"Everything here is complicated."

"Tell me about it. The Gods and Goddesses? I barely believed it when I came here at first, too. But, when I stopped and thought about it, thought about the fact that one of my parents was a god or goddess, my entire life seemed to make sense. Grant it, I was only five, so I believed in a lot of things. But, for some reason, I knew that it was all true. The monsters and the magic and the weird dreams, I wasn't crazy. Everyone had always told me that I was crazy. But, I wasn't. Well, at least not for those reasons anyway."

I examined her face. She was young, and she looked young. Her eyes were wide and her skin was supple, by there was more to her than just that. Behind her eyes, there was a layer of sadness, a fear the gnawed away at her mind all of the time. There were bags under her eyes from all the nights she had stayed up, trembling from the nightmares that so many demigods are plagued by. Worry lines were etched in her forehead. She carried an air of maturity about her, like she had seen too much. Survived too much.

We continued our trek in silence, awkwardly shooting looks at one another. My eyes darted around the beautiful valley. Nymphs and satyrs were skirting around the woods, eyeing us with wide eyes. Apparently, word travels pretty fast in is place.

After what seemed like hours, we finally arrived at the Hermes cabin. Briskly, Ari stepped in front of me and shoved open the screen door. "Go on and get your stuff." She smiled, gesturing to my small area on the floor, next to the wall.

I maneuvered my way around the room, careful not to touch anyone's stuff. When I finally made it to my corner, I grunted at my measly pile of stuff. An old, dirty sleeping bag, a bag of stolen toiletries, a knapsack full of clothes from the lost and found, and the Minotaur horn, covered in dirt and dried blood. My dried blood.

In only a matter of moments, I had all of my stuff In my knapsack, and my sleeping bag tucked under my arm. I turned and looked at Ariana, giving her a slight nod. Ever so carefully, I made my way back to her, still not stepping on anyone's stuff. When I hit the door, I took one last look around the room, and felt a pang of sadness. I was just beginning to find a home in his cabin, and I was leaving.

Ari seemed to sense my sadness because she stepped close to me and placed her small hand on my shoulder. "Hey, it's okay! You'll be fine. Don't feel bad about leaving the cabin, I'm sure Ethan and Chris will be thrilled with the extra floor space." I gave a light chuckle, thankful for her uplifting attitude. "Let's go waterboy!"

Waterboy. I already had a nickname, and I was claimed less than an hour ago.

I laughed and followed her down the steps and across the clearing of cabins. We were heading to the cabins on the end, a place that hadn't been stayed in for probably hundreds of years. Ariana stopped just in front of Cabin Three, the one that reminded me of our cabin in Montauk. The Poseidon Cabin. As we neared it, I was overwhelmed with the smell of warm saltwater. A breeze seemed to come from the building, reminding me even more of the ocean.

I noticed that Ariana beside me was eyeing the cabin critically. Suddenly, it hit me that she had never been in here either. It was a first time for both of us.

"Here goes nothing!" She shrugged, walking forcefully towards the door. With a gentle nudge, the white wooden door opened with a soft Creak!

THe inside of the cabin was completely different than Cabin Eleven. Instead of multiple bunks crammed all around, there were four bunks made of fine birch wood, covered in soft mattresses with matching silk sheet sets. Instead of a cluttered floor, the wooden planked floor was spotless.

But, something about this cabin felt almost…..sad.

There were no pictures hanging on the walls, unlike Cabin Eleven. They were stark and bare. The bunks were crisp and new, not used and worn down. There were no clothes on the floor, weapons strewn about, or lost shoes thrown off in the clutter. The Cabin felt emotionless. It lacked character.

But, it still felt like home.

"Huh." Ariana shrugged, analyzing her surroundings, getting the same look Annabeth did whenever she focused hard. Maybe Ari was a child of Athena?

I placed my bag down on a bunk in the room, picking a place where the sun would not wake me up too early, but I wouldn't be completely in the dark. Although, it wasn't like I couldn't switch bunks whenever I wanted to.

"I could sleep in a place like this." She muttered, placing a hand on the bare walls. "Peaceful, quiet, not crowded."

I laughed lightly at this. "Hey, maybe you will one day." I said that before I thought it through. I had just said that maybe she would be claimed as a child of the Big Three and suffer a terrible fate, like Thalia. Nice going Percy!

"Yeah, maybe." She said wistfully. Wait, she was wistful? Why? I was about to ask when she interrupted my thoughts.

"Well, anyway, I'll let you get settled." She said, walking back to the door. "I'm glad you were claimed Percy. I know it's not what you wanted, but knowing makes things a little bit better, even if it makes your life ten times worse." And with that, she walked out of the cabin.

I stood there, thinking of the words she had just spoken to me. ' _Knowing makes things a little bit better, even if it makes your life ten times worse._ ' That was the most truth that I had heard in awhile. And, she was right. Knowing that Poseidon is my has lifted a huge burden off of my shoulders, but now, I carried a new burden, the burden of a child of the Big Three. My life was just about to get a hell of a lot harder.

 **Character of the day- Grover**

 **Please, please review!**


	10. Follow Your Nightmares?

**Well folks, here it is. Chapter 1-0! i really, really hope you like this chapter. I do. Please, I would absolutely love a review, or criticism, or ideas, or comments. Feedback gives me life. I love it so much. Don't be afraid to speak until. Also, any guesses as to who Ari's parent or parents are?**

 **Disclaimer- I once threw a penny in a wishing well, wishing to own PJO. The penny flew back up and hit me in the face.**

Ariana III

To be honest, I felt kind of sorry for Percy. Instead of making friends and joining activities and doing all the things normal campers do, he just sat awkwardly to the side as people gawked and pointed at him, like an animal in a zoo. He sat by himself at table Three during breakfast, lunch, and dinner, staring glumly at his food, pushing it around the plate with his fork. He had to join other cabins for his activities, and most just stared at him the whole time. None of the other Hermes campers wanted to sword fight with him anymore, in fear of what he could do, so, most days, he just got a private lesson from Luke or me.

Luke did not go easy on him. He worked him for hours, fighting until both of them were ready to collapse out of exhaustion. Percy always left the arena covered in bruises and cuts that most definitely had not been there before. Although, Luke didn't look like he was faring much better. When I worked with him, we focused mostly on agility, strategy, planning, the things that Luke and other people like him forgot.

Even the Ares campers kept their distance. Clarisse just looked at him with complete and utter hatred. One, because he was a child of Poseidon. Two, he broke her spear. Nobody and I relate NOBODY touches or goes near that spear, let alone breaks it!

The only other person that talked to Percy was Annabeth. Every other morning, she taught him Greek, but she was distant, detached. She spent most of her time holed up in Cabin Six, probably obsessing over blueprints and battle strategies. Even for her it was a little weird.

I woke up one morning at five, a whole hour before the rest of camp was supposed to wake up. I looked around the Hermes Cabin, and saw that I was the only one up. Travis and Connor were asleep on the bunk across from me. Travis was almost falling off the top bunk, his arms and head dangling over the edge. It wouldn't be the first time he had fallen off the bed. Connor was snoring like a truck driver in the bottom bunk, tossing and turning, and flailing his arms. Ever so carefully, I pulled off my blanket and stood up. I grabbed a camp t-shirt and a pair of running shorts. I slipped on my tennis shorts and quietly padded out the door.

It was a cool June morning. It was still dark, the sun had yet to peak over the trees. It was deadly quiet, except for the occasional growl from the woods. I looked around and saw that no other demigod was outside. I was the very first one up. Silently, I jogged to the bathroom to change. I threw on my t-shirt and shorts. Carefully, I pulled my long brown hair into a fishtail braid that fell down my shoulder. I looked myself once over in the mirror before heading out.

Whenever I wake up earlier than everyone else, which usually happens once a week, I like to go on runs around camp. Sometimes I ran through the woods, but I always had to take a weapon if I ran there. Sometimes I run around the cabins, but today I decided to take my favorite trail. The trail that led along the beach.

I began to jog down the hill towards the beach. Now, I don't want to brag, but I am a really good runner. The best at camp. I can lap the Stolls in the arena and I can even leave some of the nymphs in the dust. It was actually pretty impressive.

I breathed in happily as I hit the beach, salty sea air filling my lungs. Long Island Sound glowed faintly in the dusk, the waves ruffling and moving like the fabric of a blue dress. The beach was completely deserted, the white sand completely undisturbed. A cool breeze came in, blowing my dark hair in odd directions, making my mismatched eyes flutter. This was my absolute favorite place in the entire world. I love the beach and everything about the beach. Sometimes, I think that I might be a daughter of Poseidon, just because of my love for the beach and the water.

But, then again, if I was a daughter of Poseidon, why wasn't I claimed?

Sometimes I absolutely hate the gods.

Please don't tell them I said that.

I ran for about thirty minutes, completing almost seven miles all together. See, I told you I was fast. By the end of the run, I still felt energetic, and I was barely sweating. That was another thing about me. It takes a lot to make me sweat. Sometimes, I can run for almost an hour and a half before even starting to perspire.

The sun was just now starting to climb it's way over the tree line, illuminating the water and making it glow brilliantly gold in the light. The trees rustled around me, the nymphs getting ready for their days.

Other than the sound of ruffling foliage and breaking waves, the entire camp was quiet now. Nobody else was up still. I treasured these rare, fleeting moments of peace, knowing that they are few and far , a strong gust of wind came from over the Sound. Everything got deadly quiet and a bright light flashed in front of my eyes. Then, everything went black.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I opened my eyes wildly, my arms flailing everywhere. I was lying on my back on cold, hard, rocky ground. The room was almost pitch black, but I could faintly see the outline of a wall next to me. A cold wind nipped at my skin, causing an eruption of goosebumps all over my tan arms and legs. I had absolutely no idea where I was.

My back popped loudly as I stood up, bracing myself and placing my hands on my knees. I steadied myself for a moment before looking around, examining my surroundings, and trust me. I did not like what I saw.

I was standing in a circular stone cavern, walls on three sides of me and a large, curving roof almost thirty feet overhead. To my left there was what looked like a passageway, leading into another pitch black room. Suddenly, I heard it. A voice.

It was a deep, swallowing male voice. It rumbled the ground, like it was an earthquake. The walls seemed to echo it's off putting growl. A deep rumble erupted all over the room, and I realized: the voice was laughing. Laughing a deep, terrifying, maniacal laugh.

"Come to me, child." The voice boomed, causing stalactites to fall from the ceiling, crashing onto the ground next to me. I flinched away from the noise, moving my hands in front of my face. Something about this place was scary. All of the sudden, the wind picked up. It wrapped around me like a giant, invisible hand. My arms were being held down and something unseen was tying my legs together. Against my will, it picked me up and carried me down the dark and brooding passageway.

The further in we went, the darker and more terrifying it got. The evil laugh echoed throughout the walls, making the entire passage tremble. I was going down, deeper and deeper into this blackness. Something was waiting for me there.

Something evil, yet strangely familiar.

I was dragged along for what seemed like hours, my dark brown hair whipping me in the face. The icy wind nipped at my face and arms, pricking my skin like a thousand little pins. Then, the wind came to a halt at the end of the passage. With a mighty shove, I was thrown into the awaiting room.

This room was like the one I had been in before, accept almost twenty times larger. And, instead of solid stone ground, the ground sloped downwards to the edge of a pit. The pit itself was itself almost the length of two football fields, and it was even wider than it was long. I peered slowly over the edge, and felt instantly queasy. It was a black pit of darkness, with no bottom in sight.

Needless to say, it did not feel…..inviting.

"Your time will come my child." The voice echoed once again, and then I realized that the voice was coming from inside the pit. Something, someone, was down there, speaking to me, calling to me.

I tried to talk, but the words clumped in my throat, like a giant verbal hairball. My hands were shaking and my knees felt like jelly. I swallowed and spoke again. "W..who are you?" It came three octaves higher than I wanted it to.

The voice laughed again. "You will learn soon. You will learn your place."

And then, the wind picked up, and before I had time to respond, I was tossed over the edge of pit, like some rag doll. I began to scream wildly, my arms flailing every which way, trying to find something to catch myself on. I looked up and saw the dim cavern begin to disappear above me as I sank into the blackness.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Ariana!" A voice called out to me. "Ari!" A glowing figure hovered above me, shining like the sun in the darkness. I could vaguely see the outline of a person, a man.

I felt a tugging sensation in my right leg, like someone was dragging me. My entire body seemed to be jerking violently. I was no longer in charge of my own body. It was in charge of me. I couldn't make sense as to what was going on.

My eyes shot open. I looked around in fear. Two figures were peering over me, their faces etched with concern. One was a teenage boy with a bad case of acne and a small, whips of a goatee. He had a head of curly brown hair and wore a green rasta cap. Grover, a voice in my head said. The boy next to him had crazy, windswept black hair. His eyes were a deep sea green, like a hurricane. Percy, the voice said.

I felt sand between my fingers and covering my legs. I could smell the aroma of salt water. I was back at Camp Half-Blood, back on the beach, where I had been before I blacked out. Grover and Percy were looking down on me.

It was then that I realized that they were vibrating, like, violently. Why were they shaking?

Wait. They weren't shaking. I was shaking, uncontrollably and violently. I couldn't make myself stop. I was having a…..what's the word?

A seizure, my mind told me. Why in the world was I having a seizure?

"Ari! Are you okay?" Grover bleated nervously, grabbing my wrist. I opened my mouth to speak, but my tongue lolled into my throat.

"Ulghhh." I sputtered. Spit built up in the back of my throat and I coughed aggressively. I couldn't breathe.

"Grover! What's happening?" Percy said in a worried tone. He probably didn't know what was happening. He was a great guy, but he was a bit...oblivious.

"I don't know, but we need to get her to the Big House. Now." Grover nodded to Percy, who looked me over for a second, as if trying to find the best way to pick me up. After a moment, Percy nodded back at him, and then scooped me up in his strong arms. I was still shaking, but he didn't seem to mind.

The shirking got wilder and even more violent as I was tentatively lifted off the sand. Percy held tightly onto me as I twitched and shuddered in his hold, keeping me close against his chest. For a young, immature twelve year-old boy, he was surprisingly gentle. I looked up at him with scared eyes before, with one extreme shudder, I blacked out once again.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

When I opened my eyes again, the shaking had finally stopped. Good thing too, because it was starting to make me a wee bit nauseous. Looking around, I came to the conclusion that I was no longer at the beach. I was in a small, twin bed covered in soft, plain white sheets. The room was a square, the walls cluttered with old posters of Elvis and Ray Charles and some opera singer that I could not remember off the top of my head. There was a nightstand next to me. A juice like drink with a small umbrella in it stood on top. I was in the infirmary.

My hand trembled as I reached out and grasped the cup. Feebly, I pulled the blue, bend straw towards my sunburnt lips. I took a small sip, and instantly felt relief and energy coursing through my body. The liquid tasted like Elysium, or molten chocolate cake, to be exact. Gods, I love ambrosia.

After a few gulps of the godly drink, I set the glass back down on the nightstand. There was no clock in the room, but I could tell it was about ten in the morning. Don't ask me how. I am just really good at guessing the time. All of the other campers would be out and about, going through the routine. I need to get out of here and go join them.

With a huge sigh, I managed to push myself off of the bed and onto my feet. Apparently,my hey hadn't taken my shoes off, because I was still wearing my gray, Nike running shoes. I was clad in my normal attire, a camp t-shirt and a pair of black shorts. Obviously nothing major had happened, or my clothing would have been changed.

My balance was still slightly off as I wobbled my way into the hallway. The Windows flooded the space with natural sunlight and I smiled at the pleasant brightness. I paused to look out the window, and smiled at what I saw. Will Solace, a twelve year-old son of Apollo, was teaching a girl, about nine, to play volleyball. She was obviously a daughter of Apollo, with her gorgeous blonde hair and icy blue eyes. Unwillingly, I felt a pang of jealousy in my stomach. I could tell her parent by just looking at her.

I was...well I look like….well I take after…..I'm an enigma.

I heard the sound of voices coming from the living room. One was a deep, male voice, with an edge of wisdom to his words. That one was Chiron's. The other was a male voice, but it was slightly higher, younger, on edge. Percy's.

"I think it is time for you to consult the Oracle, Perseus." Chiron said slowly. I was leaning against the hallway wall, listening to them in the next room.

"The what?" Percy asked dumbly. Gods, he's a Kelp Head. Oh, right. That's the nick I gave him, along with Water Boy. Gods, I love giving nicknames to demigods. My personal favorites are Palomino Princess, for Nicolette, a daughter of Aphrodite that absolutely adored horses, and Owl Brain. That one was Annabeth's. She hated that almost as much as she hated Annie.

"Not a what Percy. A who!" An irritated voice spoke up. This voice was also male, and it was calm and relaxed, like a surfer. Luke.

"Fine." I could almost hear the eye roll in his tone. "Who?"

"The Oracle of Delphi." Chiron told him. "The speaker of prophecies and truth. You must consult her."

"Oh, okay." Percy mumbled. "Where is she?"

"The attic."

"Oh. Obviously." Percy muttered sarcastically.

It was this moment when I chose to turn the corner, letting my presence be known to the trio. They all stared at me, green, blue, and brown eyes meeting my mismatched stare. Percy stared at me in surprise. Chiron, in wheelchair form, eyed me warily. Luke just smiled.

"Ari. Oh my gods what happened to you?" He said loudly, rushing towards me. He put his hand on my head and brushed away a stray brown hair.

"I don't really know," I shrugged, looking at Chiron. "I was going for a run, and the wind picked up, and…." I trailed off, averting their gazes.

"And what Ariana?" Chiron pressed.

"And…." I told them about the caves and the pit and that….voice. I shuddered at the thought of that booming, terrifying sound. When I finished,Percy was staring at me with wide eyes. Chiron was looking down, and Luke just looked simply crestfallen. He placed a strong hand on my shoulder.

"I see." Chiron mumbled. He scratched his beard thoughtfully before speaking again. "Well now it is confirmed. Percy you must consult the Oracle. Luke, will you show him the way?"

Luke looked me over skeptically before nodding and motioning to Percy to follow him. Without another word, the two left the living room. When we were alone, I looked over to Chiron, my mismatched eyes wide.

"Look, Chiron. I know that this is worse than you say." I spilled. "I know demigods have dreams and visions, but this was even stronger. It was like I was there. And, when I came to, I was having a seizure. As far as I know, that is not normal. What happened?"

"I honestly don't know, Ariana." Chiron said in a defeated tone. "All we can do now is wait until Percy's audience with the Oracle is over. Then we will go from there."

 **Character of the Day- Nicolette, my made up daughter of Aphrodite**


	11. The Oracle is a Bitch

**Hey there! Chapter eleven here! I really hope you enjoy this next part. I worked hard on it. Please, pleas, review or comment. I can't tell if people actually like this story or not, so I would appreciate some feedback. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer- Yes! I do own-OW! Guys, Rick Riordan just hit me in the head with one of his books!**

Percy VI

I crept up the rickety stairs to the attic, my legs shaking with every step. I was going to see the Oracle, and I was not what you call, excited. Apparently, some people who have an audience with the Oracle stay up there forever, or go absolutely crazy. And those who come down, well, they got stuck with a quest that sometimes ended up killing them. None of ode sounded like very good options. But, staying downstairs and facing the state of Chiron didn't sound too good either.

I decided to take my chances with the Oracle.

I walked into the attic, and was immediately hit by the stuffiness of the room. It was almost ninety degrees up here, and obviously hadn't been cleaned in years. There were tables all over the room, each cluttered with a random assortment of stuff. There were monster heads in pickle jars, prices of armor, broken weapons. It looked like a mythological junkyard.

I walked up to the nearest table and picked up a broken arrow. There was a faded paper tag on it that read Arrow used to kill Chimera, Darwin Baloo, Son of Ares, Frankfort, Kentucky, 1972. Evidently, these things were trophies from past battles and quests.

The most terrifying artifact by far was the mummy in the middle of the room. When I say mummy, I don't mean a person wrapped in toilet paper. I mean a woman that has physically shriveled and withered away, her skin turning to leather, and her bones shattering into dust.

The mummy stood straight up, standing in a brown, wooden coffin. She wore a faded tie-dye dress that went down to her knees. A random collection of leather necklaces hung around her neck. Her hair was long and brown, pulled to the side, braided with feathers and beads. The worst part though was her eyes. They were solid, white orbs, not an ounce of darkness in them.

I looked around the room. Where was the Oracle? Luke said she would be up here.

"Uh, I..I'm Percy." I muttered stupidly. "I need to talk to the Oracle. Where are you?" Wow. Wow. I sounded like a dumb, little toddler.

Suddenly, the Oracle moved, scaring the living Hades out of me. She leaned forward, and opened her mouth. Green mist poured out of her like smoke and her eyes began to flow a bright, vibrant green.

What the f….

" _I am the Oracle Delphi, speaker of prophecies of Phoebus Apollo."_ She spoke in a terrifying, yet enticing voice. It was rough and raspy, like it hadn't been used in years. To be honest, it probably hadn't.

"Uuugh…" I said intelligently. I felt so smart. My hands were trembling violently. Something about this

" _You seek my council. A prophecy._ " She continued.

"Uuugh" Like I said. Smart.

" _Well, if it is a prophecy you seek, it is a prophecy you will get."_

"Uuugh." Apparently, my idiot brain could not formulate any intelligible words right now. Wow, Percy. Wow.

" _You shall go west and face the God who has turned._

 _You shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned._

 _You shall be betrayed by one who calls you friend._

 _And fail to save what matters most in the end."_

At end, the green smoke began to recoil back into the mummy, like snakes slithering back into their holes. The mummy leaned back into the coffin and went completely and utterly stiff, as if nothing had ever happened.

"Wait!" I screamed. "Wait. No, please. What was stolen? What friend will betray me? How will I fail?"

But the mummy was silent, unmoving, her eyes back to their normal, milky white, blankness. I stood there, staring at it, my green eyes wide. It took me what seemed like hours to finally come to one single realization.

The Oracle wasn't talking anymore. My meeting with the Oracle was over.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

When I came back into the living room, the crowd had gotten larger. A large crowd was gathered around the ping pong table, which I assume is where the meetings were held. Katie Gardner, a thirteen year old girl from the Demeter cabin, was absentmindedly stroking the yellow magnolias that grew in a clay pot in the window. Lee Fletcher, who was fifteen, was tapping his fingers on the table like a drummer. Silent Beauregard, who was fourteen, was slowly braiding her black hair while conversing with Charles Beckendorf, the huge, fifteen year old, African-American, head counselor of the Hephaestus cabin. No one ever called him Charles or Charlie. He preferred Beckendorf. Nobody knew why, but we were all too scared to ask him about it. Castor and Pollux, Dionysus's twin, fifteen year old sons, were throwing grapes at one another. Clarisse was sitting at the end of the table, looking extremely pissed. But, what's new! Luke sat in the middle of it all, staring out the dirty window. He was the oldest of the group. The other, older campers were not head counsellors. Why, I don't know. He seemed to be muttering to himself. Annabeth was standing to the outside of the group, staring at the crowd with calculating gray eyes, her blonde hair pulled into a loose ponytail. Grover sat on one of the mushy lounge chairs, nervously eating a throw pillow. Ariana was staring at the fireplace, her face like a stone. I had absolutely no idea what she was thinking. Chiron was sitting in the middle of the madness, a concerned expression on his face. And, oh great, Mr. D was sitting at the head of the picnic table, a can of Diet a Coke in his hands, looking like he could not care less about what was happening right now.

Great! I thought. More people to hear my bad news!

Grover was the first one to notice me. He quickly scrambled up out of his chair, looking at me with wide, satyr eyes. "So? How did it go?"

Everyone quickly turned towards me, their expressions morphing into ones of expectancy. Chiron rolled closer to me. "What did the Oracle say?"

I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. All the eyes on me made me nervous, especially since it seemed that absolutely NO demigods had normal eyes. Katie's were a bright, vibrant, unnatural green, like fresh grass or the leaves of a tree. Beckendorf's were brown and terrifying, with a hint of fire in them. Silena's were gorgeous, as expected, always changing from brown to green to blue, like a kaleidoscope. Luke's were brown and full of mischief. Annabeth's were steely gray and calculating, like she was always trying to find the best way to take you out. Knowing her, she probably was. I thought they were beautiful. And Ariana's, were just, well, plain unnerving. One bright, sky blue, one a deep, fascinating brown. I never knew which one to focus on when I looked at her. That just added to her mystery.

"Uh, she said I would find what was stolen." I mumbled, keeping my eyes focused on my feet.

"That's great!" Grover cried happily. Everyone else just stared at me, eyes blank.

Chiron just shook his head plainly. "Tell us exactly what the Oracle said."

I cleared my throat, slowly. "Uh, she said that I shall go West and face the God who has turned. I shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned."

"I knew it!" Grover smile stretched from ear to ear. Ariana beside him grunted, while the others murmured to themselves. I decided to leave out the part about being betrayed by a friend. All of my friends that I had were in this room, right now. I didn't want to bring it up, it any of them.

And the last line, well, I didn't want to bring that up either. You shall fail to save what matters most in the end. That didn't sound too great. Hey guys! I'm going to go out on this quest, but fail in the end! Yay!

"Wait." A thought suddenly came into my head. This entire time I had been talking to the Oracle, I never once learned the truth. "What was stolen in the first place?"

Now everyone else was shifting nervously. A few looked just as confused as I did, but Ariana, Annabeth, Luke, and Chiron looked at each other sternly, having a silent conversation. Finally, Chiron nodded to the other three before turning his attention back to me.

"A weapon." He said plainly. I stared at him confused. "A weapon so powerful, it could defeat nearly any foe. It could bring down the other gods with a few strokes. It could change the fate of the world forever. Something quite important to Zeus, that, if in the wrong hands, could mean the end of his reign." Everyone else's eyes bulged. They all understood what he meant. He stared at me until it finally clicked.

"Zeus's master bolt." I said firmly. Chiron nodded. "Well, that's good then. The Oracle said I would find what was stolen and see it returned."

Chiron looked at me sternly, and I could tell that he could see right through me. But, if he could, he didn't say anything. "Is that all?"

"Uugh, yeah." I stuttered, looking awkwardly, shifting on my feet. My palms were starting to get sweaty. Chiron knew I wasn't telling him the whole thing. He had his ways of knowing everything.

"Well, remember this Perseus. The Oracle's words don't always mean what they seem. You never know what is going to happen until it happens."

Oh yeah. He could see right through my flimsy, little lie.

"Well, if I am going on a quest, where am I going? Where do I start?" I looked at the man in the wheelchair expectantly. I wanted to change the topic.

"Think about it. If Zeus and Poseidon fall, who will be the one to rise? Who would want control of the master bolt?" He looked at me sternly. I felt like this was one of his tests back at Yancy, where he expected me to know the answers, but I never did. I hated those tests.

"Uh, someone who wants to take over?" I shrugged, stupidly.

Chiron shrugged awkwardly, scratching his thick beard. "In a way, yes Percy. The one who will rise is the one who is not happy with his share of the world. One who will be strengthened by the death that a war of the gods would bring. Someone who despises his brothers for forcing him into an oath that they have both now broken."

I stared at him like an idiot for a few moments, until it finally all clicked into place. "Hades."

"Yes. He is the one."

"Wait." Katie said, raising her hand. "Hold up. You mean to say that the Lord of the Dead is after Percy?"

Ariana stepped forwards. "It would all make sense." Everybody stared at her like she was crazy. She rolled her mismatched eyes. "Think about it people. A Fury was sent to kill Percy. She watched him until she was sure of who he was. Then, she tried to kill him. Who do Furies answer to? Lord Hades! A hellhound got into camp. Hellhounds come straight from the Underworld. They can only be summoned directly from the Fields of Punishment. And, someone had to have summoned here for it to get within the magical borders. That means, the Hades has a spy here. Now that he knows that Percy is a Son of Poseidon, he thinks that his father will use him to prove his innocence. Hades must have sent a hero to Olympus to steal the master bolt and then he hid it in the Underworld. Think about it! It all fits together. It has to be Hades."

Nobody said anything. Nobody could think of anything to say. Ari did have a point. If Hades was responsible, everything would make sense. Wait, was I the only one that heard the part about Hades having a spy here? Or, was that just my imagination?

"It would make sense." I piped up, slowly. Everyone turned their attention back to me. "I've been uh, having these, sort of…..dreams."

That got everyone interested.

"Dreams Percy?" Chiron said in a worried tone. "Why haven't you told anyone?"

"Uh, because it isn't a big deal?" I suggested. Annabeth scoffed while almost everyone else, including Mr. D, rolled their eyes. Ariana, however, kept her gaze fixed on me, her expression emotionless and hard.

"Percy." Ari said gently, before anyone else could speak. "Demigods don't just dream. When we sleep, we have, sort of, visions. We see things, real things. Or, we see the foreshadowing of things. We always dream for a reason. What the reason is, though, is not always clear."

Lee grunted. "Huh. Ariana's on a roll today."

It was barely noticeable, but I could see the ten year old suppressing a smile. She loved it when older campers complemented her or listened to her. Woah, back on track Percy! Dumb ADHD.

"Anyway," Chiron continued, shooting a glance at Lee. "Perseus, tell us what you have been dreaming about."

"Well," I started. "It always starts the same. I am on a beach, and it is stormy. I mean like, hurricane stormy. Wind is blowing every direction, lightning is illuminating the sky, rain is pouring down. And I always see to figures fighting in the surf. Sometimes TV wrestlers in green and white tunics, other times it's a horse fighting an eagle. One day it was a businessman attacking a fisherman. That's the part that changes." I stopped for a moments and looked around. All of them were staring at me, crestfallen. I took a shaky breath and continued.

"But, last night, it changed. I was watching the wrestlers fight, and I knew that for some reason, I had to stop it. I..I tried to stop them, but I couldn't move. I was stuck, frozen. Then, a voice came up from under me, shaking the ground. The voice was bone chilling." I shuddered at the memory. "It said 'Come down, hero. Come and join me.' Then, the ground opened up underneath me, and I fell into a pit. A pitch black pit. I thought I was going to be falling forever, when I finally hit the ground. When I finally steadied myself, I looked around. I was In A huge cavern. To the right of me was a solid, black stone wall. To the left of me was a bottomless pit. Then, the voice spoke again, this time coming from the pit. 'Come to me. Come to me.' And then, I woke up."

The crowd of demigods looked scared. Their eyes were wide, staring at something in front of them, anywhere but me. The only person looking at me was Ariana. Her tan face was still emotionless. Finally, after an awkward minute of silence, someone spoke up.

"That's a lot like the dream Ari had." Luke said calmly. "The one that caused her seizure." Everyone immediately turned to Ariana, their mouths agape. Ariana kept an emotionless expression, keeping her eyes locked on mine.

"Well, it sure does sound like Hades." Silena offered, running her hands through her Long, shiny, ebony hair. We could all tell that she was desperately trying to change the subject.

Beckendorf next to her grunted. "Seems like something he would do. Get someone to steal the bolt, then hide it in a place where nobody can go." We all looked at him warily. In the week that I was here, I had only ever seen his mouth moving, but I've never actually heard him talk. His voice was just how I imagined it would be. Deep, booming, yet smooth.

"Wait." I put my hand sin the timeout symbol. "If the master bolt is in the Underworld, can't Zeus just go and take it back?"

Evidently that was a stupid question.

Annabeth stepped forwards, rolling her eyes. "No, Seaweed Brain. He can't. Gods cannot enter other god's realms unless they are invited. They also cannot directly take another god's symbol of power. Is Zeus took Poseidon's trident himself, all Hades would break loose. That's why Hades had to have gotten someone to steal the bolt for him in the first place. There is no rule against demigods stealing things and entering realms. Zeus thinks that Poseidon used a hero to steal his bolt. Now that you have been claimed as his son…..."

Seaweed Brain. It took me a moment before I realized that she was insulting me, but by then I didn't really care. Damn ADHD. I had another thing to worry about.

"Wait, he thinks that I stole the master bolt?" I asked crazily. "Is he stupid?"

A bolt of lightning split the sky.

"Uh, Percy, do not call the King of the Gods stupid. Perhaps, misguided is a better term." Chiron said slowly, looking nervously out the window. It was now pouring down rain outside. There was no more sun or warmth. It was dark, wet, and cold. Wait, how did a storm get in camp's borders? Aren't they magical?

I would have to figure that out later.

"So, what you're saying is, I have to go on a quest to the Underworld, to retrieve a lightning bolt, for which I am blamed for taking, get out of the Underworld safely, and bring it back to Mt. Olympus, all with the hope that Zeus doesn't kill me in the process?" Chiron nodded.

There were a couple 'Yeps!' and 'Uh-huhs' and one 'I hope he does kill you.' I'm guessing that one came from Clarisse.

"Well. When do I start?" I said.

"Ah, so eager Perseus." Chiron smirked. "But first, we must choose three companions to accompany you. ( **A/N I know it is two companions, but for the sake of my story, I am changing the rules. Please don't hate me!** ) Of course, one of them has already volunteered."

He gestured to the cluster of demigods standing around the ping pong table. All of them quickly shook their heads, practically saying 'Oh Hades no! Not me!'. They all wanted quests, just not this particular quest. The only person who didn't shy away was Annabeth. She just stood there, smugly.

"Annabeth." I murmured. She took a step closer to me.

"Yes. I have been waiting for a quest for years. I am going." She crossed her arms over her chest. I looked over at Chiron, expecting him to tell me who the other two were. He just shook his head,

"You must choose the other two people Percy. It is your quest after all."

"Oh." I muttered. So I had to choose two more people to go on a death march with me. "Well, I think I want to bring Grover."

A price of polyester dribbled out of his mouth. "What? Me?"

"Yeah. You G-man. I wouldn't dream of going without you." Truth be told, I wanted to give Grover a second chance. All he wanted in his life was a Searcher's license, and he needed to complete a quest to get one. After he had failed the first time, he needed to be able to try again

"Well then. Who will finish the quartet?" Chiron asked.

I looked around at all of the demigods in front of me. All of them seemed scared and most likely did not want to come. Only one of them did not look terrified.

"Ariana." I said plainly.

She looked at me with an amused expression, her eyebrows raised. "Me? The unclaimed ten year old girl? Really?"

"Really."

 **Character of the Day- Alison, my made up daughter of Hermes**


	12. I Have Been Waiting for This

**A huge, huge thanks to everyone who followed my story. It means a lot. I really love writing and I love it even more when other people enjoy it. Here is chapter 12 for you. This story is going to be long, so get ready. Please, please review! Please!**

 **Annabeth III**

I sat down on the edge of my bed. I rubbed the smooth, gray, satin fabric between my fingers nervously. My Yankees cap sat on my legs, a backpack laid zipped up next to me. Chiron had given Percy, Grover, Ariana, and I a few hours to get ready, and then we were set to head out. I had everything packed in a matter of minutes. Now I was just sitting here, waiting. Waiting for the quest. Waiting for the prophecy. Waiting for adventure.

Now, it might seem idiotic. Three hyper-active, dyslexic, battle ready, heavily armed demigods and one young satyr on his last leg, going out into the mortal world to find the entrance to the Underworld, confronting the Lord of the Dead, getting Zeus master bolt back, and bringing it all back to Mt. Olympus, all before the Summer Solstice. Sounds like a disaster, right? Wrong.

I have been dreaming of getting a quest for years now, ever since Luke got one. Sure, I was younger than a lot of the people, but I deserved it more than most. I have been here all year, every year, for the past five years. I have trained harder and studied more than is probably healthy. I had to get out of here.

And, you know what, I have confidence in my companions.

Grover, he was loyal beyond belief, and desperate to succeed. He is going to do everything it takes for us to succeed, even if it costs him his life. Ariana, she was just amazing. Sure, she was young, but she had just as much training and experience as me. Since she was unclaimed, she wasn't stuck under some preconceived notions or stereotypes that children of some gods get. She was wild, free, and unbelievably skilled with a blade. Not to mention incredibly intelligent. She was the perfect companion. And Percy, well, Percy was just…..a Seaweed Brain. I don't know what else to call him. He just is. He's skilled with a blade and his water tricks are amazing, but he can be a bit oblivious at times. He was strong, and bold, and fearless, and loyal, and attractive…

Woah Annabeth! Not again. Don't think about his strong jaw or his bright, green eyes, or his windswept black hair…...Damn ADHD.

Anyway, I have been dreaming of this quest for years now. I am so ready to leave this place.

After another moment of just staring at my cap, I set it down on my knee and turned my attention to my backpack. I had it filled with all the essentials- extra clothes, almost $100 worth of mortal money, a handful of golden drachmas (the currency of the Gods), a canteen of nectar, a ziplock bag of ambrosia squares, a flashlight, batteries, and a few books, hpjust in case the quest got a little boring at times.

I slipped the gray straps if the bag over my shoulders. I was wearing a blue t-shirt and a pair of white-wash jean shorts. My hair was loosely tied in a ponytail. According to the Aphrodite campers, I had "absolutely gorgeous hair! Like a princess's!" It was blonde and curly and went down to just below my shoulder blades. Personally, I hated my hair. Whenever people saw me, they assumed I was just some stereotypical, dumb blonde ( **A/N I am a blonde too. Take absolutely no offense, please! Blonde's are quite smart**!) It made me seem less smart, less, intimidating. I liked being intimidating.

"Hey Annabeth!" Malcolm, my older brother, smiled at me, giving me a small wave as he sat down at one of the many desks in our cabin. That was the thing about our cabin, it was perfect, in my humble opinion. All six sets of bunk beds were shoved against one wall, like it didn't matter where we slept at all. Each bed was covered in the same gray, silk sheets. Everyone's bunk was decorated with pictures of their families and their homes. The rest of the room was cluttered with desks and bookshelves, each heaped with books and blueprints and letters and photos and schematics. Of course, we did clean our cabin every Sunday for cabin inspection. We always had one of the neatest cabins, but that didn't stop us from littering it with all of our stuff throughout the week.

"Hey Malcolm." I smiled back. He looked just like me, except his eyes were more blue than gray and his hair was a little darker. Those were the only things that differentiated between children of Athena.

"You ready for this?" He asked.

I nodded my head fiercely. "Oh Hades yeah!"

He laughed smoothly at my response. See, demigods use words the name Hades to replace the word Hell, and other things like that. We had tone careful with what we said though. Sometimes certain things make the Gods….angry.

Not angry. They throw temper tantrums, like toddlers.

Please don't tell them I said that.

Just then, I heard a voice outside of our cabin. "Hey, Annie! We gotta get goin'!" Without even trying, I knew who it was. Only one person called me Annie

"Coming Ariana!" I hollered. I walked over to Malcolm and gave him a quick hug. All of our other siblings were out training. We had already said our goodbyes.

"Good luck sis." He mumbled, squeezing me tightly before releasing me, giving me a gentle shove towards the door. I pushed it open and waved as I walked out.

"Bye Malcolm!" I said as the wooden door snapped shut behind me. I turned to see Ariana standing infront of, hands on her hips. She was wearing a pair of dark jean shorts and a gray tank top that said 'Perfect Disaster' on it. How appropriate. Her dark hair was in French braided pigtails. Still, even though it was braided, her hair went down to the small of her back. There was a black backpack slung over her left shoulder. There was a knife sheathed at her waist. I knew that she had a bow, quiver, and a sword magically concealed somewhere. Ariana was great with bows, swords, and knives. She preferred to keep as many weapons with her as possible. Her brown and blue eyes shone brilliantly in the sunlight of the midday. Her lips were pulled into a playful smile.

"Let's get going Annie. We're supposed to meet Percy at the top of Half-Blood Hill." She gestured me to come towards her. I rolled my eyes at the girl.

"Again Ariana. Stop with the Annie thing!" I yelled in friendly way, giving her a gentle shove. She just smiled wider and shook her head. I put my arm loosely around her shoulder, which was easy for me to do. She was at least a head shorter than me. But, she made up for her vertical challenges by being one of the best fighters, campers, and friends anyone at camp had ever met. She was like a sister to me. There are some bonds that run thicker than blood.

We continued our playful banter the entire time we walked, stopping occasionally to tell someone goodbye. We passed by the Aphrodite children in the pegasus stables, who stopped and stared as we walked by. The Apollo campers were at the archery range. They all turned and waved as we went past. Lee Fletcher and Kirsten Macnamara both came up to us and gave us giant hugs. People leaving for quests wasn't an everyday occurrence and people were watching us like crazy. I couldn't tell they were watching us with happiness, wishing us luck and admiring us, or with sadness, like we were starting our own death march.

I couldn't shake the feeling that it was the latter.

When we got to the top of the hill, Chiron and Grover were there, but Percy was not. Figures. His quest and he is the one that is late. I stopped suddenly in my tracks, my breath hitching. Ariana turned and looked at me, am expression of worry etching her face. "Are you okay Annabeth?"

"Yeah." I nodded, attempting to control my erratic breaths. "It's just, every time we come up here, I remember it all over again. That night. The night that…" I trailed off, not finishing my story. I didn't need to. Ariana knew exactly what I was talking about. She had been with me that fateful summer night. She and Luke both knew my pain. I felt my eyes get hot with tears, and I turned away from Ari.

I stood and looked out over the hill. The view was amazing from up here. You could see the entire valley, from the big house to Long Island Sound. Camp really was breathtaking, the strawberry fields giving off a sweet aroma while the Apollo cabin shined brightly in the sunlight. This place was my home. These people were my family. I was safe here.

Then, I was shaken out of my euphoria by a figure running up the hill towards me. He wore a green t-shirt and jeans. His red backpack bouncing on his shoulders. His black hair was flopping in the wind. Percy.

"Hey Annabeth!" He smiled in a goofy way, before tripping on a log and falling flat on his face. I tried to stifle my laugh, but I was too late. I let out a loud snort, throwing my hand infront of my mouth. He stood up quickly, attempting to look nonchalant. He was failing. Miserably. There were blades of grass stuck to his face and arms and there was a twig tangled in his hair. He started to run up the rest of the hill, before finally coming to a not accidental stop in front of me. I wiped the smile off of my face. He couldn't know that I had started to really liking him, as a friend. He still needed to be afraid of me.

"You're late." I said pointedly, eyeing him with my steely gazed. He mumbled something that sounded similar to 'Sorry. I got distracted' and slowly kicked his heels into the moist Earth. The rain had finally stopped, or at least taken a break, for the time being.

"Come on you two! Get a move on." Ariana hollered, interrupting us. "The Summer Solstice isn't coming any slower!" I rolled my eyes while Percy mocked being offended. I took another sweeping look at the valley, soaking in every detail from the obscurity of the cabins, to the white sand of the beach, the warm aroma from the strawberry fields, to the smoke from the forge. I wanted to memorize every detail of this place, my home, like I was never going to see it again. And with our group going on a quest, led by Percy, it was likely we would not all make it back.

I shook my head and pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind. We would all make it back. We would all return home. We would all be okay.

I walked over to Ariana, quickly followed by Percy. She was standing with her arms folded over her chest next to Grover, who was wearing a red t-shirt, jeans, a pair of tennis shoes, and a rasta cap. We figured the mortals would be a little freaked if they saw a teenage boy with horns

and hooves, so he always covered them up. He had a brown backpack on his back. Chiron was beside him, in full on half-horse form. His long brown hair blew in the wind, flapping behind his head like a flag.

"Ah. Now we all are here." He said coolly, eyeing Percy. The boy in question shrunk sheepishly, looking at his feet. "Now. You must head out soon, if you want to hit New York City by midday. Do you have all of your weapons?" I nodded quickly, Ariana smiled, Grover held up his reed pipes. Percy shifted on his feet, looking around us uncomfortably.

"Uh...no." He mumbled quietly. We all turned to look at him, confused. Why didn't he have a weapon? Didn't he use a sword?

"Ah, yes. I forgot." Chiron shook his head, and then reached into the satchel that was slung across his shoulder. After a moment of rummaging, he pulled out his hand, in it a ballpoint pen. I recognized it at once. "Here you go my boy. Your weapon." He extended his hand towards Percy.

Timidly, he took the pen from Chiron, looking at it skeptically. He turned it over and over in his hand, eyeing it. After a moment of thinking, he finally spoke.

"This is a pen."

I stifled a giggle while Ariana snorted next to me. Percy looked at us like we were crazy. "What? It's a pen, right? It's just a…" He trailed off and looked at the centaur with wide eyes. "Wait. Is this...the sword you threw me in the museum?"

Chiron smiled. I didn't know what they were talking about, but evidently he understood. "Yes Percy. This is the one. _Anaklusmos_."

"Riptide." Percy said, surprising even himself with his fluency. With a shaky hand, he uncapped the pen. In a swift motion, it changed into a long, glowing bronze sword. His green eyes got huge as he held it in his hands.

"This is the only sword that has ever felt balanced in my hands." He said wistfully, running his fingers around the hilt of the sword. The way he looked at that weapon was the same way Aphrodite girls looked at hot guys, or the way Grover looked at enchiladas. I could tell that he really liked that sword.

After another minute of admiring his new weapon, Percy turned his attention to Ari and I. "Wait, you guys said you had weapons, but I don't see any with you."

I shook my head. "I prefer to use a knife." I pulled up my shirt a little, revealing the bronze knife sheathed at my waist. He nodded, slowly.

"And I," Ari stepped forwards. "I use too many weapons to conceal. We had to get a little, ah, creative. Yeah, creative. Check this." She reached over her shoulder and tugged at the first zipper of her backpack. At first, I thought she was grabbing a knife or something, but then, when it was fully unzipped, the top pocket of her pack became a quiver, full of arrows.

"Woah." Percy stepped back, his face full of surprise.

"Dang Ari." I smiled, shaking my head. "Where'd you hide the bow?"

She shot me a goofy grin before untying the rope necklace she wore above her camp necklace. As it came untied, she snapped it like a whip, and it sprang into a beautiful, wooden bow, covered in black varnish and delicate hieroglyphics. I breathed in slowly. Of course her necklace was a bow. I had always wondered where she got her bow from. It wasn't the kind they had at camp.

"Anything else Ari?" Chiron chuckled, smiling at the girl.

"Yes. As a matter of fact I do." She grinned. "My knife is at my waist, like Annabeth's. And my sword o _Daímonas_ , well…." She pulled a ruler out of her first pocket of her backpack. Suddenly, the ruler shimmered in her hands a transformed into a celestial bronze sword. It was gorgeous, with hieroglyphics that matched her bow. Standing here, in front of us with her weapons out, she looked ready to kill somebody.

"Well, now that that matter is settled," Chiron cleared his throat. "You must get going." Ariana nodded, putting all of her weapons away, changing them back into their hidden forms. I tightened my backpack straps, and Grover bleated nervously.

Suddenly, we heard a voice coming over the hill. "Wait!" It cried. The figure ran over the crest of the hill, and I saw that is was Luke running towards us, a shoebox in his hands. "I couldn't let you leave without giving you something. Or saying goodbye." He added after a glance from Ari.

"Oh, thanks Luke." I smiled girlishly, blushing slightly. Ariana shot me a sideways glance. I glared at her and she looked away, grinning and shaking her head.

"Their for you Percy." The older boy shoved the box towards Percy, who took it warily. With shaky hands, he lifted the lid off the box." Inside were a pair of gold Nike shoes.

"Oh, thanks". Percy mumbled, staring at the shoes.

"Oh, don't look like that Percy. They're so much cooler than that. Check this out. _Maia_!" He cried the last part loudly. And as soon as he did, the shoes sprouted tiny pairs of white wings, like angel wings.

"Holy crap!" Percy jumped back as the shoes flew up. Scared, he swatted them away and they feel to the ground. After a moment of writhing around, the wings folded up and disappeared. He was still staring at them, dumbfounded.

Luke chuckled and picked up the shoes, putting them back in their box. "These shoes have helped me many a time. Use them well."

After he handed the box back to Percy, he clapped him on the shoulder. Then, he came over to Ari and gave her a hug, picking her up and spinning her around.

"Luke. Put me down!" she laughed. He smiled and put her down.

"Kill some monsters for me Ari."

"Will do."

Then, he came over to me. To me! Haaaaaaa….

"Good luck Annabeth." He smiled, embracing me. I felt my entire face blush as he held me in his strong arms. I felt his heartbeat, his warmth. I almost protested when he let me go, but I elected against it. Instead I just smiled and nodded. He grinned and stood up.

"Good luck to you all. See you soon!" He waved and turned to walk down the hill. As soon as he was gone, Ari spoke up.

"Percy, you can't use those shoes." She said.

"What? Why?" He asked.

"Because," Chiron jutted in. "how do you think Zeus would react if the boy he thinks stole his master bolt was flying around in his territory"

Percy looked down sadly. "Oh." He shoved the shoes in his backpack, sadly.

"Well, children, now it is officially time you get going."

 **Character of the day- Harry Potter, yes I know he's not in the PJO series, but he's just so awesome**


	13. He Has Eyes Where?

**Chapter 13 is in the building! I really hope you like this new chapter, and this story. Thanks to everyone who followed and favorited my story. Please, please. I would love a review or a PM. I love all feedback!**

Percy VII

Ok. I have been at Camp Half-Blood for a week now. I learned that the Greek gods are real, and that my birth father is Poseidon, God of the seas. I have seen centaurs, satyrs, naiads, nymphs, a wall of flowing lava, a hellhound, a fury, the Minotaur, and a child Hermes that stole every single piece of weaponry from the Ares cabin and hid it ithe lake. You would think that nothing would surprise me now.

Wrong.

I got in the Delphi's Strawberry Service van (that was camp's cover: a strawberry farm.) Annabeth got in first, sliding all the way across the back seat. I got gin second, sliding down next to her, but leaving a respectful distance. Ari slid in third, groaning as her back popped. Grover got in last, nervously bleating as the door slammed shut. None of this surprised me. No. The part that surprised me was the driver.

He had eyes EVERYWHERE.

When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere. On the back of his hand, on the back of his neck, on his arms, on his forehead. The rest of him looked relatively normal. He was a fairly tall man with long, sandy blonde hair in a pair of boardshorts with a white t-shirt. He looked like your average surfer, if your average surfer had millions of ice blue eyes all over his body. As he got in the car, he said nothing. All he did was look at us in the mirror, his piercing blue gaze tingling my spine.

"His name is Argus." Annabeth whispered to me. "He is the head of camp security. He doesn't talk much."

"Why?" I asked.

"Supposedly, he has an eye on his tongue, which he doesn't like to show off." She mumbled, looking out the window. "But nobody really knows." She added at the end.

"Huh." I grunted, turning my attention to my suddenly fascinating kneecaps. I have to admit, I was nervous. We were about to embark on a quest to the Underworld, a place where only a few select people have ever gotten out of. Then, another question popped into my head. "Wait, if we are going to the Underworld, how do we get in?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Through the entrance of course."

I gaped at her, annoyed. She obviously thought that I was an idiot. "Not what I meant."

"The entrance," Ariana interjected, stopping Annabeth before she could retort. "Is obviously here in America, since Olympus is. It's in a place where death is strong, as is the presence of the gods. California, Los Angeles."

"Oh. Sure." I shook my head. They said these things like it was obvious, like everyone should know it. Sometimes the people at this camp got on my nerves.

I stared out of the window as the van roared to life, the engine turning on with a violent purr. Slowly, the van began to drive across the grass. All four of us in the back seat jolted up as we changed from grass to pavement. We were now on the small country road that led away from camp, towards Manhattan. Finally, someplace that I knew. I know that, out of this group of people, I knew the most about New York City.

We bounced up and down along the country roads. I saw the skidmarks and tire tracks in the ditch where our car slid out. Strangely, the car was not there anymore. Huh, they must have towed the Camaro.

Wait. All of the color from my face drained, leaving me white as a ghost. The Camaro. Gabe. He was probably sitting there, playing poker, shoving his face with diabetes, not even noticing that I was gone. The only reason he would even realize that my mother was gone was because she wasn't there to cater to his every whim.

"Hey, Perce." Ariana turned towards me,more face grim. "I found something today. I think you'll want to see it." I looked at her confused as she reached down and unzipped her backpack. Shakily, she pulled out a newspaper. The front page had a picture of a boy and his parents, standing in front of a skyscraper. As I looked more closely at it, it hit me. The boy on the cover was me. Me. It was a picture of my mom, Gabe, and I in front of our new apartment building. My heart dropped looking at my mothers happy face, the smile lines next to her eyes, her long hair billowing in the wind. This picture had been taken at a better time, a simpler time, a time before Gabe turned mean and ugly, before I had been attacked by a Fury, before that night at Montauk, before the Minotaur took her to the Underworld, before I learned who I really was.

"We get a few newspaper every few months or so," Ari continued, placing the paper on my lap. "For surveillance reasons. This one came yesterday, and I saw it right before I left. Read." There was a long article under the photo, captioned "Boy and Mother Still Missing After Freak Accident." It wasn't much of an accident. I took a shaky breath before forcing myself to read the story.

The entire time I read, Ariana watched me nervously. Grover was asleep next to her, and Annabeth was absorbed in some book, off in her own little world. She didn't care about what was happening next to her. My hands began to shake as I got further and further in, my anger boiling over like a pot of pasta water on the stove. This article was a lie.

"This is a lie!" I turned to Ari, my face red. "This is all a lie. It says that the Camaro was found in the ditch, with blood on the seat."

"Was there blood on the seat?" She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yes. But that's not the point. All of that is true, but what comes after that is what is false." I tried to explain. "They interviewed my step father. Gabe. He..he told them that I was a troubled child. He said that I had serious issues. People think that I killed my mother. They think that I am a murderer. My alcoholic, fat, smelly step father convinced them to that I went crazy, totaled his car, and killed my mother. None of that is true." I was on the verge of tears now, my face getting hot. Ari looked at me with sad brown and blue eyes.

"I'm so sorry Percy." She placed a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle shake. "I really am. I...I know what it feels like to take the blame for something you had no control over. Trust me. I do."

I was about to ask her what she meant, but she looked away quickly, closing her eyes and leaning back. I wonder what she meant by that. I would take to her later, because right now, I was too mad. People were now out to get me. I was a wanted criminal, for something I didn't do. Ari said she knew this pain, but I seriously doubt it. How could anyone feel this?

My eyelids drooped as our van bumped along. It had begun to rain again, the water droplets hitting the top of the car with a soft pitter patter. Lightning lit up the sky and thunder cracked in the distance. It was hard to believe that all of the storm came from just two people fighting one another, over a lightning bolt.

I had my arms folded across my backpack, pressing it against my chest. Grover had fallen asleep leaning against the window. Annabeth had fallen asleep against the other door, snoring every once in awhile. The only one left awake was Ariana. She sat there next to me, her fingers on her camp beads, rotating them slowly. She seemed to be whispering something under her breath, something in another language. I knew instantly that it wasn't Ancient Greek, since I could not understand it. I was something different. German maybe? French? It was so quiet that I couldn't really tell.

My green eyes began to drop as the soft beat of the rain and the hum of the engine worked together in harmony, creating a beautiful melody that lulled me to sleep. Before I knew it, I was completely out.

Honk!

At the sound of the loud noise I jolted awake, my arms flying in two different directions. I accidentally lipped Ariana in the chin, which she responded to with a swift punch to the arm.

"Sorry." I muttered.

"What was that?" Annabeth said blearily, rubbing her eyes. Obviously the noise had woken her up too. I looked out the window and answered the question immediately. We were in the middle of a street, packed to the brim with traffic. Yellow taxis,sports cars, minivans, and all other kinds of vehicles were squished in next to us. Hundreds of people walked both ways down the sidewalk carrying phones, purses, shopping bags, backpack, pushing baby carriages. Tall brick buildings lined the roads, their front entrances covered in Windows displaying baked goods, dresses, clothes, and anything else you could imagine. I knew exactly where we were. Midtown Manhattan. We were there.

"Manhattan." Grover yawned, stretching his arms out next to Ari. "We are just about there." I looked at the clock on the dashboard. 1:15 it read.

"Okay guys." I looked up and down our row. "What's the plan?"

They all stared at me like I was stupid.

"What's the plan?" Annabeth stared at me incredulously.

"Yeah. You got one?"

She scoffed. "Got a plan? Perseus. This is your quest. You are in charge. It's not my plan, or Ari's, it's yours. We will help you, but you need to make a plan."

I just stared at her, gaping. I hadn't thought about it that way. I was in charge of this quest. I was the leader.

"Oh." I nodded, looking away from their piercing gazes. "Well, we need to go west."

"Thank you Captain Obvious." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"Well, the easiest way to get there when you can't driver or fly, is by bus." I continued.

"We need to catch a Greyhound." Ari said, shooting me a nod.

I looked at my three companions. Each of them gave me a reassuring look. I smiled.

"Let's catch ourselves a bus."

 **Character of the day- Kirsten Macnamara, daughter of Apollo**


	14. The Bus Explosion was Not My Fault

**Here is the next chapter. I did the math, and this story itself should be about 21 chapters all together. Please let me know if I am going to fast or to slow, or if my writing has gone to hell. Sometimes I need to hear that. Thank you to everyone who followed and favorited and reviewed my story. Thank you for all of your feedback. Please, let me know what you think, even if you hate it. Your input helps me become a better writer.**

Ariana IV

We climbed on the Greyhound, in the same order we sat in the van. First Grover and me, then Percy and Annie. I laughed internally at the thought of them having to sit together. I knew they didn't really get along. I love irony.

We sat in the back seat. Grover kept looking out the window, as if expecting we were going to get murdered at any second. Percy and Annie sat next to me, keeping a large distance between the two of them. The rest of the crowd piled on, quickly filling up all of the empty seats. The last three passengers were three old ladies, each wearing a dress that went past their knees, leather jackets, and red knit stocking caps. Kind of an odd fashion choice if you ask me.

The bus roared along as we pulled out of the station, into the busy New York traffic. Rain was falling, drumming on the roof. My breath created little clouds of condensation on the windows.

We rode in silence for about twenty minutes, before entering the Lincoln Tunnel. All of the sudden, all three ladies stood up next to me. I suddenly heard Percy's breath hitch next to me.

"What is it?" I whispered across the aisle.

"Th..that woman in the front." He stuttered. "That's Mrs. Dodds."

My eyes got wide as I looked at the old lady. Then it hit me. She was a Fury, Alecto to be exact. Well, crap.

"Take the cap!" Annabeth whisper-yelled. "Turn invisible. Maybe they won't notice you."

"No…." Percy began to protest, but She shoved the cap on his head. In an instant, my friend had disappeared, completely. I wish I had that hat.

"Oh crap. They're walking this way." I muttered, slinking down in my seat. Everyone else that I could see shrunk down beside me, crossing their arms. The three old ladies walked down the center aisle, looking at everyone with burning glares as they made their way. When they hit our row, they stopped in their tracks. Their eyes seemed to burn holes in my skull. I held my breath for a solid thirty seconds before they walked away.

"Oh thank the Gods." Grover sighed, a little too loudly. Before Annabeth and I could shush him, all three Furies turned around.

"We have been waiting for you, thief." Mrs. Dodds hissed. All of the sudden, she morphed from her human form into the hideous monster that is a Fury. I stiffened.

"Crap." Annabeth groaned next to me. Instinctively, I reached for the ruler in my backpack. This was going to get ugly fast. I looked over at the gray eyed girl and she gave me a knowing nod.

"Grover, try not to get yourself killed while Annie and I deal with this." He nodded warily.

"Turn yourself in now, or we will have to do this the hard way." Alecto hissed, her eyes glaring bright orange. After a moment of silence, she hissed again. "Fine. Hard way it is then."

And then, she lunged.I jumped into the aisle at the same time as Annabeth, both of us slashing our swords in unison. Mortals screamed wildly as the Furies shook the bus. I don't know what they saw, but it couldn't have been pretty.

"Annie, hold them back. I'll go get the bus to safety." She nodded at me. "And keep that hat on!" I screamed to the air, but Percy knew I was aiming it at him. Grover next to me was futilely throwing tin cans at the monsters. I turned and ran up the aisle of the bus. We had just exited the tunnel and were now on a beautiful country road in New Jersey. With force, I ran up and jerked the drivers hands from the wheel. Wildly, he began to reach for it, while attempting to shove me away. I steered us off onto a side road where no other cars were going. For a ten year old, I was a pretty good driver.

The bus came to a screeching halt on the road when I slammed on the brakes. "Get them out." I said forcefully. The driver did not argue. Quickly, he began to shove mortals out the door. I turned around and saw the battle that was raging. It wasn't going too well.

Annabeth was fighting it out with Alecto. Grover was pointlessly throwing tin cans at one of the others. An invisible force was dueling with the third sister. Percy.

I charged in, raising my sword high. I yelled and slashed, killing the Fury that was fighting Grover. The other two were not as easily killed.

Annabeth continued to duel with Alecto, claws and flames clashing with celestial bronze. I could sense an invisible sword slashing. All of the sudden, the other sister exploded into a pile of dust. Percy got him. All of the sudden, I saw it out of the corner of my eye. A fire, coming from the front of the bus. Thick black smoke was erupting from the dashboard.

"This place is about to blow!" Grover yelled, voicing my thoughts.

"We need to get out of here!" I screamed. Annabeth was still dealing with the Fury. I had to figure out how to get her out. Before I could act, something jumped on Alecto, dragging her shoulders down. All of the sudden, the Fury turned, throwing the force off. Percy Hit the floor with a thud, the cap flying off.

"Thief!" She hissed. She lunged at him, scratching his arm all the way down.

"Gaaah!" Percy screamed in pain.

"Bitch." I growled. I looked at Annabeth and she shot me a knowing nod. "Agh!" I ran forward in unison with Annabeth, both of us swung our weapons, and Alecto exploded with a loud hiss.

Sadly, there was no time to celebrate the victory. The entire bus was almost filled with black smoke.

"Run!" I yelled. We all ran as fast as we could to the front of the bus, and out the door. As soon as we stepped on to the gravel of the road, the bus exploded in flame.

"Shit!" I yelled as I was shoved into the ground by the force. I forced myself up and crawled away from the flames, making sure I didn't get burned. The mortals next to me were slowly regaining their composure. Soon they would start wondering what's happening. Soon they would begin to point blame.

"Guys. We need to get out of here." Annabeth took the words right out of my mouth. "Now."

Without a second word my companions and I started running up the road, not looking back.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Well that officially sucked." I sighed as we trudged along in the rain, our shoes sloshing in the puddles on the side of the road.

"True." Percy groaned. He had fished a square of ambrosia out of his backpack to heal his wounded arm. Now we were aimlessly walking down a New Jersey road in the pouring rain, no money, no food, no map, no phones. We let our bags on the bus and then...well, it exploded. Kaboom.

"What do we do now?" I asked nobody in particular.

Suddenly, a wonderful smell broke through the rain. A smell so wonderful, my mouth couldn't help but start to salivate. It was the smell of burgers and greasy fries. The smell of pure Elysium.

"Do you smell that?" Percy asked.

I nodded and Annabeth's stomach responded with a resounding growl.

"Where is it coming from?" She asked, looking around the countryside.

"There." I said. I could vaguely see a neon sign in the distance, glowing faintly. For some reason, I knew the smell was coming from there. "That way. Let's go!"

Without a thought, we went off down the road towards the sign. We didn't even stop to think that we had no money to buy food, or the fact that we had no idea where we were. The only thing we cared about was our hunger,

After a few minutes of walking, we finally arrived in from of a ray, brick building. It looked like a roadside shop, absolutely covered in lawn ornaments and stone statues.

"Huh, they must sell statues here." I mumbled absentmindedly. Sorry ADHD!

This was most definitely where the smell was coming from. I could practically see the burgers grilling and the fries sizzling. My stomach growled loudly.

The neon sign in front of the building glowed brightly, the cursive letter shining in my face. Because of my dyslexia, the sign looked like it said "Atyun Me's Gredan Gmone Epomiurm"

I don't think that's what it's supposed to say.

"What does it say Grover?" Percy asked. Oh yeah. He's dyslexic too.

"Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium." Grover mumbled. "I don't think we should go in there. I smell monsters."

"Really? Because all I smell is delicious, greasy food." Percy said back. "Let's go see if anyone's home."

 **Character of the day- Argus**


	15. A doofus, a Genius, a Satyr, and a Mess

**Sorry for not updating in a while. My schedule has been crazy! But, here it is. Chapter Fifteen! Feel free to leave a comment or review or do something like that. Feedback makes me happy. Please enjoy!**

Annabeth IV

Okay, so when a Middle Eastern woman, that runs a worn-out Garden Gnome Emporium on the side of a random New Jersey road, has exactly the type of food you are craving at that moment and gives it to you no questions asked, you would think you would get a little suspicious, right?

Wrong.

Let me tell you the one thing stronger than suspicion. Hunger. And right now, my stomach was screaming. So, of course, Percy, Ari, and I blindly followed her into the run down warehouse, ignoring Grover's quiet protests. Food. Food.

She led us past rows and rows and rows of stone statues. Wonderfully, intricate carvings of children in dress clothes, women holding babies, men sitting straight up. All of them were so lifelike, it was a little eerie. But, at this point, I didn't care. In the back of the room, there was a metal picnic table, and behind it, was a large counter, like a 50s diner. Why a place that sells gnomes has a diner in the back, I don't know.

"Poor, little, orphan, circus children." The woman, whose name was Aunty Em, yes like Wizard of Oz, cooed sadly. Apparently, she had been easily convinced by our cover story. In her mind, we were orphan children that worked at a traveling circus, but we got lost trying to find our caravan. I don't even know how she bought it

She sat us down at at metal table in the back while she left to go into the kitchen. None of us said anything in her absence, though. There seemed to be an aura hovering around us, a feeling of sleepiness, and contemptment. None of us wanted to disturb it.

Suddenly, the smell of food got stronger and stronger, until Aunty Em burst into the room, carrying trays healed with cheeseburgers, fries, and oh, chocolate milkshakes. As soon as she set them down, we all lunged, ready to stuff our ravenous mouths. As we ate, Aunty Em just sat there. I couldn't see her face, because it was covered by a burka and a pair of dark sunglasses, which was an odd fashion choice….wow. Ari has been rubbing off on anyway, even though I could not see her eyes, I could guess that she was watching us.

"You have such beautiful hair Percy, all windswept and edgy." She purred, turning her covered face towards my companions.

Wait. Hold up. Something was off.

"Ariana, what mesmerizing eyes! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were all child models."

It had to be something.

"And Annabeth dear, oh Annabeth. Such gorgeous blonde locks, beautiful tan. Perfect." She sighed. "And eyes, just like…..." She trailed off.

Oh yeah. Something was definitely wrong.

In all the time we had been here, not once had we told her our names.

Ari seemed to notice this too, because she automatically put down the fry she was holding, and pushed the tray away from her. Her face was queasy. Grover was now gnawing nervously on the wax paper liners, but if Aunty Em found that weird, she gave no heed. The only person who wasn't freaked out was Percy. He just kept on eating. Of course he did.

"Sadly, I am not as beautiful as I once was." Aunty Em said wistfully, tilting her head.

"I'm sure that is not true." Percy blushed deeply, saying the words in a sort of, trance-like peacefulness.

"Sadly, Perseus, it is true. I was once a beautiful maiden,worthy of even the most honorable of suitors. Until, that is, one day a woman found my ..ah… boyfriend and I somewhere that we should not have been. Infuriated, she punished me. Not him. Just me. My two sisters stood by me for a while, but after time, even the bonds of family grow thin, and people leave." Her accent was heavy, but I could still understand her perfectly, and I didn't like a word of it.

Percy opened his mouth to speak, but Ariana piped up just in time to keep him from saying anything else. "Well, thank you Aunty Em for you hospitality, but it really is time for us to get back to the caravan." She flashed a soft smile, and began to stand up. Grover and I did the same. Aunty Em turned her covered face sharply towards us.

"No dears." She cried. "Please don't leave me all alone. It has been so long since I have had company. Especially such, beautiful children."

"Thank you, but we will be going now." Ari forced a smile through her tight lips. She grabbed Percy's arm and began to forcibly pull him up.

"Well, if you mussst go." It was strange. She practically hissed when she said that. That did not sit well with me. "At least let me take a photo of you pretties before you go. Statues of children sell very well."

Grover gulped. At that moment, Ari tried to drag Percy out the door. She shook her away with much force, shoving her away. "Let's take one! What's the harm?"

"Excellent!" Aunt Em said before any of us could respond. She grabbed Percy's hand and dragged him towards a stone bench. I wanted to run right then, but I knew that we could not leave the dingus son of Poseidon behind. Reluctantly, we followed.

"If he gets us killed, I'm going to kill him!" I whispered as we trudged towards the bench. Suddenly, I became aware of a quiet hissing noise, like the sound of snakes. Crap.

"Wonderful." Aunt Em said. "Annabeth and Ariana, sit next to each other in the middle. Grover, sit next to Ariana. Percy, next to Annabeth. Now." Immediately, we all sat down. I felt Ariana tense next to me, which was a stark contrast to Percy, who seemed completely unfazed. The hissing noise got a little louder.

"Where's your camera?" Grover asked.

Aunty Em laughed. "Your a funny satyr Grover. I don't use a camera. You see, I make my statues in a different way. Now, when I say three, all you look at me."

Wait. She called Grover a Satyr. Satyr. She..she knew. She knew what he was. She knew our names. She knew who we were. I racked my brain for anything to help me figure out who this monster was. Suddenly, it all clicked. Her sisters, covering her face, the statues, the hissing. Oh crap.

"One, two.." Aunty Em grabbed the bottom of her head covering and began to lift it up.

"Don't look at her!" I screamed at the last minute. All four of us looked down. Ariana fell to her knees, her eyes locked on the cement floor. Even Percy looked down.

"Why can't we look up?" Percy whined like a little kid, slowly raising his head.

"No Perce!" Ari screamed as I shoved his head back down. "She's Medusa!"

That snapped Percy right out of his trance.

"Come on children! Look up at me! I want to take your picture!" Her headdress hit the ground softly next to me. The hissing was now distractingly loud. "Look up, or I will kill you all!"

"Scatter!" I yelled. Frantically, we all ran off in different directions, each looking down as they went. I ran behind a row of cement children, which now creeped me out even more, seeing as these were Medusa's victims.

I heard a loud clanging sound. Then I slowly peeked around the corner. Percy was fumbling around on the ground with Riptide in his hands. With her back turned, Medusa stood over him. The snakes that made up her hair swirled around her face like a cloud of green, hissing smoke. My friend didn't stand a chance, unless I did something to help him. Right now, he was swinging his sword in the air while staring at the ground. If he had any chance of getting her, he had to see her. But how?

Suddenly, it hit me. A shiny metal shield was lying on the ground next to me. I looked into it and saw a clear reflection of me. Perfect. I crawled further out into Percy's line of sight. I waved my hands wildly in front of him, until he finally noticed me. Quickly I shoved the shield towards him. When he caught it, he looked at it very confused, until it finally clicked. He nodded frantically. As soon as he did, Medusa turned around. Frantically, I scrambled back behind the statues. I heard her hiss something to Percy. Then, he screamed. The sound of metal meeting flesh. I defeating squish sounded through the air. Percy had hit his target.

"Cover her head Percy! It can still turn you to stone." Ariana yelled from across the room. Good. She was alive.

"Okay. It's good. It's covered." Percy called out to us. Slowly, we all shuffled out from behind various statues. Ariana was covered in dust and Grover looked terrified.

"What's wrong Grover? You look like you've seen a ghost." Percy chuckled, clapping his friend on the back.

"I think I did." Grover bleated nervously. "That statue over there, the one of the satyr, looks exactly like my Uncle Ferdinand!"

 **Character of the Day- Uncle Ferdinand!**


	16. The Arch Looks Better with a Hole

**I want to start off by giving a huge, huge thank you to all of the lovely reviews I got last week. It truly made my day like, ten million times better. A giant thank you of course had to go to Percyjacksonfan16! You are the most devoted and amazing story follower I have ever had. It might be a little weird sounding, but I love you! And to WishingIwasAri, Ibwouldnlove it if you made some fan art. One last thing before the story continues, answer this question in the comments. Who do you think Ari'a godly parent is? I just want to know if any of you have guessed it yet! (Probably not though, because it'a all been pretty vague.)**

Percy VIII

I stared at the cardboard box that we had put disembodied head of Medusa in. What were we supposed to do with a murderous face?

"What do we do with it now?" Ari voiced my thoughts.

"I don't know." I said. "I figured you or Annabeth would have an idea."

"Well, for your information, Seaweed Brain, I don't kill Medusa as a past time. Why in the Hades would I know what to do with it?" Annabeth snapped at me, brushing dirt and monster dust off of her legs.

"Sorry!" I raised my hands in mock surrender. I looked around the abandoned warehouse. Grover and I had already cleaned out the office and the register. Together, we had scraped together enough for a couple of train tickets to Los Angeles. We were set to go, but first we had to deal with our little gift. All of the sudden, I knew exactly what I had to do. I ran over to the desk in the office and pulled a pen out of the top drawer. Then, I ran back to the box and started to scribble down words. After a moment, I stood up, letting all my companions see.

"The Gods, Mount Olympus, Empire State Building, Ney York City." Ari read out loud. She looked at me with a smirk. "Oh gods boy. You truly are something else."

"I don't get it." Grover said stupidly.

I just laughed and fished a stray drachma out of my pocket and placed it on top of the box. "Come on man. Do me a solid." I whispered. Then I turned to the others. "Let's go."

They all looked at me like I had snakes for hair (oh wait…). But, they all turned with me and started trudging out of the room. As Inpushed open the large front door, there was a loud popping noise behind us. We all turned to see that the box was gone.

"Hah." I laughed before turning around and heading out, leaving my dumbstruck companions trailing behind me.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It took us almost three hours to walk from the Gnome Emporium from Tartarus to the nearest train station. We were now sitting on a train, ready to depart across the country. What a day.

"Question. Why was Aunty Em running a Garden Gnome Emporium in the middle of nowhere New Jersey? Like, really." Ari groaned as she and Annabeth plopped down in the seats across from Grover and I. With a loud hiss, the train began to roll out of the station.

"I was wondering the same thing." Annabeth sighed, pulling the train's schedule out of her jacket pocket. We had left all of our bags and things on the bus, which was now blown up somewhere in New Jersey. All we had left were our jackets and our weapons. "It says here that the train will be stopping in St. Louis before heading to Los Angeles. That means we can see the Arch!"

Cue the internal groan from the rest of us. The Arch was one of Annabeth's favorite pieces of architecture. She could talk about that thing for hours.

As Annabeth babbled on about metal and structure and crap, Ari nestled herself into a corner and closed her eyes. Grover was already nodding off next to me. I decided to follow suit and try and sleep. It was now two in the morning. 1 miserable, action packed day down. 6 more until time was up.

This quest has sucked so far.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

At about 7a.m., the train pulled into a station in St. Louis. After talking about the Arch for a solid hour, Annabeth finally fell asleep. All four of us slept straight until the conductor announced that the train was stopping for a few hours. Groggily, we all got up from our seats and followed the tired crowd out of the car.

We stepped into the station and were immediately astounded by it's immensity. People were everywhere, carrying briefcases, purses, and suitcases of all shapes and sizes. I haven't been in a place this crowded since New York. Since I lived there, since my mom was okay…

Clear your thoughts, Percy.

Suddenly, Ariana stopped in her tracks. She picked up a beaten copy of today's newspaper and gasped. "Oh no!" She whisper shouted.

"What is it?" I turned to the younger girl, eyes wide.

"This is not good. Read the title." She handed me the paper and I read the bold heading.

My heart sank. It said 'Troubled teen wanted for kidnapping of mother hijacks New Jersey bound Greyhound." And right below it, was a giant picture of me running away from the burning bus yesterday.

"Oh gods." I groaned. "Now I'm a double fugitive. Great."

"You know what that means!" Annabeth snapped. "It means that we have to keep a low profile for the rest of the trip. You're wanted!"

"Well say it a little louder why don't you!" I snapped back.

"Calm down you two!" Grover stepped between us."People are staring and we don't need anymore stares. Let's just get going!"

Annabeth grumbled, but I could tell she was happy about seeing the Arch.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Alright, whatever security guard let in 4 unaccompanied minors in ratty clothes and smelly shoes that didn't buy any tickets of any kind into the Arch, should be fired. I mean seriously! The security in this place is crap. I mean, Ari could do a better job.

Wait, nevermind. That's not fair. Ari could put security everyone, no matter how good or bad they were.

Well anyway….

We entered the museum underneath the Arch. Annabeth looked like a kid in my mom's candy shop. She was so excited by everything in the museum. She got even more interested at every display. It was slightly terrifying.

We hopped in line to get on the elevators that went all the way to the top. I was pretty excited about it, and so was Annabeth. Grover was excited to go up, just because it meant that he could get out from underground. Ari, surprisingly, was not excited at all. She told us that she had a bad feeling about it.

Whatever. I was going up.

As the elevator doors opened, I was shoved on with a family with a young boy and an overweight woman and the ugliest chihuahua I have ever seen. Annabeth started to follow me, but the security guard held her back. She looked nervous and was about to say something, but I interrupted her.

"I'll be okay. I'll see you at the top." Then the doors closed.

The ride to the top was awkward to say the least. The boy spent the entire time trying to pet the dog, and all the older lady did was yell at the boy and call the dog her son. What.

We got off at the top and began to look out the small windows. The city looked so small from up here. It reminded me of the view from our apartment. It made me think of my mom.

I am going to get her back. Just wait.

"Well, well, well Perssseusss." A voice behind me hissed. I turned around to see the fat woman staring at me, her slitted eyes focused on my face. "My masssster isss upssset with you."

"What?" I said in the most stupid way possible.

"Where issss it?" She hissed once more, taking a step closer.

Crap. There were only certain beings that asked where "it" was. Monsters.

Suddenly, the woman changed form. The mist swirled around her until she became the true monster she was. It was terrifying.

She the same ugly, old lady face, but her tongue was forked and her eyes were slits, like a snake's. And her body, oh her body, was exactly like a snake. A large, ugly snake.

Echidna.

"You're here to kill me right?" I said, pulling Riptide out of my pocket.

"Oh no. That issss my ssson'sss job. Get him." She snapped, taking a step away from me. I looked around confused. Her son? Son?

Wait…..crap.

Suddenly, her chihuahua began to morph, until it became a hideous beast with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and a ten foot long tail that looked like a snake. That was a monster anyone could recognize.

The Chimera.

"Damn." I muttered as I uncapped Riptide. The Chimera opened it's mouth a cloud of white hot flame erupted from it. I dodged it quickly, rolling to the side and out of the way . The flame hit the wall of the Arch, burning a six foot hole in the solid metal wall. The little boy next to me screeched while his parents stepped back, away from us. I don't know what they saw, but it could not have been good.

The Chimera lunged at me, snapping at me with it's bloody fangs. Echidna watched from the sides, laughing. I dodged and slashed with Riptide, occasionally nicking it's skin. Sadly though, I was outmatched. While I dealt with it's head, it's snake tail nipped at me. Unfortunately, I was not fast enough.

The snakehead bit my leg, clamping down hard. A searing pain shot up my entire body, making me woozy.

Venom. There was venom in that bite.

I nearly collapsed on the ground. My vision started going fuzzy, and I came to one realization. This was it. I had no way out of this one. There was a terrified, innocent family pounding on the elevator, a crazy mother monster watching me, and her psycho Chimera of a son trying to kill. The only directions I could go in were either straight into a deadly monster or out of a hole at the top of the Arch.

That was it. That was my way out.

The Chimera came closer to me and opened it's mouth again, and I knew it was the only option. With a look at Echidna, I shook my head.

And then, I jumped out of the top of the Arch.

 **Character of the day- the security guard**


	17. One Ugly God of War, Please!

**I'M BACK! Sorry I have been off for long, and sorry for the kind of sloppy writing. I really hope you are enjoying this story. If you enjoy any part of it whatsoever, please, please review or DM me, or favorite, or follow. All feedback is loved.**

 **Disclaimer- Rick would slap you if you thought I owned his.**

 **Happy Thanksgiving to all of my friends in the good ol USA!**

Ariana V

I have seen many terrifying things in my day, including the Furies, a Cyclops (long time ago), and even frickin Medusa. But I have to say, watching your good friend jump out of the top of the Arch probably tops the list.

We had been waiting in line for the elevators, but something had happened and they were temporarily out of order. That was not a good sign at all. Fed up with waiting, and not wanting to go up in the first place, I managed to persuade Annabeth and Grover to go above ground and check out the base with me. It wasn't very crowded, considering it was early on a Tuesday morning, so we had a clear view of the river. We milled about for a few minutes until a loud noise startled us out of our thoughts. Mortals started screaming hysterically and we all looked up. My breath hitched. There was a six foot smoking hole in the top of the Arch, exactly where Percy was. And all of the sudden, someone jumped out of it.

"Oh my gods!" I screamed as I watched the figure plummet towards the murky Mississippi. I knew it had to be Percy's. Nobody else would be stupid enough to do something like that. That had to be him. He was hurtling towards the water at lightening speed, getting closer and closer, until…..boom! He hit the surface and went under.

"Oh gods Percy!" Grover bleated, taking off toward the river. Annabeth and I exchanged a terrified glance and followed him. Every morning, I got up and ran several miles every morning, so I would not say that my normal pace was slow, but nothing came came close to the speed we were running now. My idiot of a friend had just jumped six hundred feet into water.

We came to a screeching halt by the river's bank.

"Perce! Perce!" Grover screamed at the murky brown liquid. I looked around the river. I knew Percy had survived that fall, so I wasn't looking for his corpse. No. I was looking for him so I could slap his stupid, Kelp face. I looked over to Annabeth and looked over her expression. Although she was trying her hardest to pretend like she was indifferent, her gray eyes were full of terror.

Our trio walked around the river, trying our hardest to see through the haze. It only took about five minutes before news vans, fire trucks, and police cars flooded the area by the Arch. I wandered over to where they were setting up TVs and cameras. The picture and article of Percy from the newspaper flashed on the screen. "Boy who destroyed his step-father's car and is wanted for kidnap of his mother was recently charged with flipping a Greyhound bus in New Jersey…"

I stopped listening after that. Great, now Percy was a wanted felon. There was no way we could get back on the train. I stood there, staring at the screens as they flashed pictures of Percy and a woman with black hair, probably his mother, and the two with one ugly, bulldog looking man.

"Ari!" I heard Annabeth scream behind me. I turned wildly, and began to push through the crowd until I found her standing by the bank, Percy standing beside her, completely unharmed, and completely dry.

I shoved my way through the crowd. Percy smiled when he saw me coming, and took a step towards me. But, instead of embracing him, I smacked him. Hard.

"Ow!" He recoiled, clutching his face. "What was that for?"

"For jumping out of the Arch ya Idiot!" I yelled. Annabeth was standing beside me, eyeing him warily. She was trying to hide it, but I could tell that she actually liked this guy. "And for starting a nationwide manhunt!"

"What?" He cried.

"Yeah. It's all over the TVs. We can stay and gab about your stupid little stunt later, but now we have to get out of here." I growled impatiently.

"Yeah, we should go." Annabeth joined the conversation.

Quietly, the four of us turned and walked away from the Arch, each of us still uneasy about, well…..everything.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

We finally decided to stop and eat in a small diner near the river. We had blown all of our money on the train tickets, but we knew that that was not going to happen. All we knew now was that 1) we were tired 2) we were hungry and 3) we had absolutely no plan.

We all shoved into a side booth and pooled together what little money we had. $10.36. Just enough to get each of us a burger. The waitress, an overly perky blonde with too much makeup, can over and took our measly order.

"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Percy said aloud.

"Well, with you being a wanted felon, the train is no longer an option. We need another way to get to Hollywood." Annabeth said, playing with the straw in her water.

"Yeah, but how?" Percy sounded like an idiot sometimes. He sadly took a small bite of his burger.

"Umm," we were interrupted by the perky waitress. "There is a man outside that is looking for you." Her voice was wary as she tentatively looked outsidd. We followed her gaze outside.

There stood the most terrifying man I have ever seen. He wore black pants with holes in them, high black, leather boots, a red shirt, a black jacket that looked like it was smoldering, and a pair of aviators that made you question where he was really looking. He had tan skin that looked like it was made of leather, his hair was dark brown and his hands were the size of baseball mitts. And lastly, the dude was built like a linebacker.

"Who is that?" Percy asked beside me.

Annabeth answered with one word. "Ares."

Slowly, the man strode inside the diner. He seemed to exude confidence and arrogance. I had seen him once before on Olympus, bet here he seemed more powerful, less covered.

"Well, well, well. If it's not Barnacle Breath's boy." His voice was deep and gruff.

"What do you want Ares?" Percy almost spat.

"Ooh, temper, temper boy. I am the God of war. I know a thing or two about conflict. I simply come here with…...aide."

"Aide?" Annabeth said skeptically next to me.

"Yes, missy. I just want to give you something." He slung something off of his shoulders. It was a ratty, red backpack. "Here." He handed it to Percy.

"What is this?" The son of Poseidon asked.

"It's all the things you need for the rest of this trip. And that's not all. I also got you this!" He turned and pointed towards a large truck outside the diner.

"You got us an animal truck?" I said. Grover looked about ready to pass out.

"No, ya little bitch I got you a ride. They're willing to take you as far as Vegas."

"And why in the Hades would we trust you, you god of War? Bloodthirsty ass?" Percy spat at him.

Suddenly, the room got dark. Ares took off his glasses, and we finally saw his eyes. They were like dark pits of coal, with giant tongues of fire in them. His voice got extremely loud.

"Do not forget me boy. I am Ares. God of War. I am stronger than you will ever be, pathetic half-blood. Remember that. Keep your attitude in check. Now get in the truck!"

 **Character of the day: Random little boy in the Arch**


	18. These Animals are Pissed

**Howdy hey peeps! I hope you guys like his new chapter. If you like or dislike anything about this story, please tell me man! I love feedback soooooo much. Thank you Percyjacksonfan16 for all of your amazing reviews, critiques, and words of encouragement. You are literally so awesome. Enjoy this chapter.**

 **Percy IX**

Sunshine Friendly Animal Transportation.

That was the name of the truck we were riding in. Hastily, while the drivers were still eating, the four of us clamored into the back of the truck. Inside were three cages.

One held a sickly looking zebra, with a flat full of raw meat. Another one held a large, strange bird. ( **Dudes, I don't know how many cages there were, of what was in all of them, but don't hate)** The last held a pissed off looking lion with a bundle of grass. A giant pile of hay lay in the corner, and the entire room smelled like crap.

"This is…." Annabeth started to say.

"Nice." Ariana finished sarcastically. "But, It's the only ride we have. That's five days down, two to go." That was the unfortunate truth. We only had five days left until the Solstice. Five more days until we have to get the master bolt. Five days left to rescue my mother. Slowly, Grover pulled down the door, and we were left alone with the animals.

"This is cruelty!" Grover cried, looking at the poor caged animals. While he fretted, we sat down in the middle of the floor. I slung the red backpack off off of my shoulder and began to look through it. A letter, Ariana set that up. Finally, we could see. There was extra pairs of clothes, for each of us, extra batteries, about thirty golden drachmas, almost $100 in mortal money, water bottles, and two packs of double stuffed Oreos.

I put the Oreos and the waters on the floor in the middle of us. The truck roared to life.

We sat in silence for about an hour. Annabeth had pulled a book out of her bag and was reading, and Grover had passed out on the wall. Now, only Ari and I were sitting in the middle, slowly nibbling at oreos.

"So, uh, Luke told me something before we left." I said quietly. Ari looked at me, her mismatched eyes luminous in the lantern light.

"What?" Her voice was low and scratchy.

"He said 'Tell Grover I know this time it will work. Nobody will get turned into a tree.' Do you know what he means by that?"

Her face went pale and her eyes got small. She leaned her head down, and slowly twisted apart an Oreo. "Yeah. Yeah I do." Her voice was barely a whisper. I looked at her expectantly, wanting her to continue. Seeing that is was waiting for her to go on, she took a deep breath and told me.

"Five years." Was all she said.

"What?"

"I have been at Camp Half-Blood for five years now. That's why I have five beads. I've been here longer than almost everyone else."

"You came when you were five?" I asked dumbfoundedly. "How?"

"I grew up in an orphanage, Percy. That's why I Don't know who my godly parent is. I don't know who either of my parents are. That was why, when bad things started happening to me, people were scared of me. Me. A four year old girl. I was abnormally intelligent for someone that young, so one day, when a telekhine attacked me, I never came back. I just slept in an alley that night. They didn't want me at the orphanage. Nobody cared about me. I was dangerous. But that night, I met someone else in the alley. Someone who would change my life forever."

"Who?" I asked, leaning closer.

"Annabeth."

I don't know what I was expecting, but it sure as Hades wasn't that. "What?"

"Yeah. Annie was a runaway too. She was seven. She literally tripped over me in the alley. At first, we both thought the other was a monster, but then we figured it out. We were the same. Not totally, but in a manner of speaking. We were best friends. We spent the next few months, with her taking care of me. And then, we met them."

"Ari, gah stop being so vague! Just tell me!" I said jokingly. She rolled her eyes, but her face was somber.

"Luke. And….and Thalia." She whispered her name with sorrow. I wondered why for a moment, and then it hit me. Thalia. Thalia was the daughter of Zeus, the one who was turned into a tree.

"Grover told me about her. She was the one that got turned into a tree. Wait, he said she was with three other half bloods. That was you guys?" She nodded.

"We were together for about a year, before Grover found us. He was the Keeper assigned to Thalia. He didn't imagine he'd find three other demigods with her. I felt kind of bad for him. All of the sudden he had not only one powerful teenager, but another one, a seven year old, and a five year old. He was not ready for that. Anyway, we got so close to camp, but then….."

"The hellhounds and the Furies attacked." I finished.

I could now see tears glistening on her face. "I remember it like it was yesterday. Annabeth and Luke were a few meters ahead of us. Thalia was holding my hand. Grover sent the others down the hill, and we were going to follow, and then, a hellhound jumped out. It, uh, it went for me. I tried to fight it off, but I was so small. It was on top of me, biting me, smripping my skin into pieces. It was the most pain I had ever felt."

" Then, Thalia fought it off of me. Luke ran back up the hill, and he carried me down. I was seriously injured. Grover tried to help Thals, but she said no. She sent him back down. When I came too, she..she was…dead. I sobbed and I sobbed by her tree for days. I had never felt more alone. It didn't help that Annabeth was claimed by Athena. I was all by myself." Ari was now hyperventilating. She brought her knees close to her chest and looked at the ground. Tentatively, she pulled up her pant leg. There was a large, red scar all the way up her calf. "And now, I see this everyday. And I am reminded of that gods awful day."

"Ari, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean too….."

She cut me off. "No Perce. It's not your fault. But, that's why Luke said that Grover would not fail. He blames himself for Thalia's death, even though the rest of us don't. This is his last real chance. If he fails this time, he can never get a Searcher's license." She finished.

Oh. That's why Grover was so desperate for this to not fail. It was his last shot. Just one more thing riding on this quest.

"It's just, Thals was like my big sister. When they found us, Annie grew closer to Luke, while I grew closer to Thalia. On the first day we met, she gave me O Daímonous. It was her backup sword. When she gave it to me, she said 'Here you go Ari. Now you're a real warrior.' What I wouldn't give for her to see me now." Ari's voice shook while she spoke. She kept her eyes focused on the Oreos in front of us.

"She would be proud." I mumbled. Ari nodded solemnly. She laid down, placing her head full of brown hair on my leg. Right now, she looked very young, but so worn. She had seen too much.

"Yeah, proud. Don't lie to me Percy." She groaned. I could feel her tears on my pant leg. She really seemed so small right now. "I don't know who I am Percy. I have absolutely no idea. Luke and Annabeth always try and convince that I will know soon. Someone will claim me, but who are they kidding. I am no one. Nobody wants me. I have no discernible powers or defining qualities that tell me who I am. I am an enigma."

I just sat there in stunned silence. Nobody had ever opened up to me like this before, and I could tell that this was not something Ari did on a regular basis. She was so broken, so alone. I just laid my hand on top of her head, and stared at the door. I thought about all of Ari's qualities. I thought back to capture the flag, to sword fighting. Her skills were incredible. When she fought, time seemed to bend around her. But she was gentle too. She was great with people, and extremely kind. She was funny and, in my opinion, already beautiful. She was right. She was an enigma.

We kept up the silence a little longer, until I realized that Ari had fallen asleep on my leg. She really was a good girl. She was fierce, strong, but lonely, and more broken than I could ever know. I felt bad for her. She really didn't know who she was. I would hate to be like that.

I thought about Ari and Annabeth as little kids, living in alleyways, defending themselves from monsters. I imagined Luke young and crazy, finding Thalia, and then finding the other two, how much that must have changed his life.

After a few more minutes, I fell asleep too, uneasy about the days that lie ahead.

 **Character of the day- The Zebra in this Truck**

 **Any guesses who Ariana's godly parent is? Any ideas, tell me! PM me!**


	19. Author

**Even if you have never read this story, you can still do this!**

 **I am having a contest. Another friend of mine did this with Harry Potter FanFiction and it was absolutely awesome! Random people got so so into it! Here is what you have to do:**

 **Create a demigod character. They can have any back story, any godly parent (except for one in the Big Three. Those are off limits.) They can look like anything! They can have any personality, any weapons, and any skills.**

 **PM me or comment your idea!**

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 **That character will make an appearance as a special, multi chapter character. They might even become a really big character.**

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 **Much love, Olivia aka. Fantastical394**


	20. What Happens in Vegas

**This chapter is kind of crap, but I still hope you like it. I would love it if you could review on this chapter! Please review! And also enjoy.**

 **My contest is still open. See my latter chapter! And if you have any idea who Ari'/ godly parent is, please please please tell me!**

Annabeth V

Think of some of the greatest works of architecture on the planet. The Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower. Now imagine them shrunken down, gaudy, and made specifically for tourists, and surrounded by the brightest, and most over exuberant buildings on the planet.

That is Las Vegas. And I despise it.

"What are we going to do now?" Grover asked, zipping up his bag and putting on his Rasta cap. "When those guys come to open the truck, what are they going to do when they see four people in here?"

"I have an idea." I smiled and looked over at the caged feline next to us. We had finally swapped out the lion and the zebra's food. Now they were much happier. And oh, I had a plan.

I leaned in close and told them my brilliant idea for getting out unnoticed. Like I always say, Athena always has a plan. I watched as their eyes got

wide as they heard it, Ariana's head bobbing up and down in agreement. Percy looked confused, but what was new?

But the reason we could get out unnoticed, was the fact that something else was going to be noticed.

We all moved to the back of the truck and got in our positions. Percy was next to the zebra cage. Yes, we learned that now Percy could talk to horses, because of his Poseidon/ creator of horses family. Ari was next to the bird, which we learned was a female turkey, and Grover stood next to the lion cage. Well, since he was a satyr, he could speak to animals, and was the least likely to be eaten alive.

We waited until the truck stopped. We heard the two passengers get out of the front and begin to walk towards the back. I looked at my companions and they nodded. We were ready. I heard a banging noise as the door of the truck slowly opened, bathing us in light. But before they could fully register the four teenagers in front of them, we met them loose.

We let a zebra, a turkey, and a lion loose in Las Vegas.

As the animals ran loose, the truck drivers got so distracted that we were able to run out of the truck and into the street.

We were just off the strip. I could see the bright lights just down the street. We clumped together just away from the truck, in the shadowed corner of an alley. Ari and Percy kept sharing long glances. I didn't understand why, but now was not the time.

"Where do we go now?" Percy asked. That was a good question. I had absolutely no idea where to go. We only had 5 days until the Solstice. We still needed to get to LA.

"Well," Grover said. "I say we go to the strip!"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

We walked up the street and onto the strip. I was nauseated by all the tackiness and bright lights, but Percy, and his Seaweed Brain-ness, seemed to like it.

We walked and pushed through the crowds, trying to hide Percy's face, just so he would not be arrested. We walked for a few minutes, aimlessly, not wanting to go anywhere.

And then all of the sudden, we turned and saw it. The Lotus Hotel and Casino. A beautiful, bright building, not tacky like the rest of Vegas, but beautiful. Apparently, they were all thinking what I was thinking.

"Let's go in there." Percy said. And, I completely agreed with the him.

 **See My Author's Note- just because I know you didn't read it**

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

The Lotus Hotel and Casino was the most amazing place I have ever been. Inside, there was a water park, a giant, free arcade, and our room. Gods, our room was amazing.

And it was all paid for. They said our names were "on the list". Whatever that meant, I loved it.

I completely lost track of Percy. Grover was dancing, and Ari was in the room sleeping. I had found a game where you could design your own city.

If this isn't Elysium, I don't know what is.

My city was gorgeous. It was all themed like Ancient Greece. The buildings were marble and elegant. The entrances were pristine, ornate archways, surrounded by beautiful Corinthian columns. Fires burned in braziers in terraces and the statues were solid gold. There was beautiful stone and marble steps. The gardens were filled with olive trees and bright flowers. It was amazing.

I stayed and played the game for hours. It was amazing. Nothing else around me mattered, except for my own world.

Until Percy pulled me away.

"What!" I screamed as he dragged me away. He looked at me with worried sea green eyes. "What?"

"We need to get out of here." He said sternly. I realized that Ari was standing right behind him, the same look of horror on her face.

"What?!" I screeched again. "Why would I leave this….this paradise?!"

"It's too much to explain now. We just need to get out of here!" Percy yelled.

"No. I won't leave!" I screeched.

"I'm so sorry Annie, but this is for your own good." Ari said slowly. Then, she smacked me.

All of the, I came back to reality. I was aware of all the people around me. They were dressed in clothes from multiple different decades. The room was terribly crowded. What is this place?

"What the hell is happening?" I asked.

"This Hotel is something weird. Something bad is happening. We need to get out of here." Ariana said urgently.

"Now." Percy added.

"Where's Grover?" I asked, suddenly realizing that the satyr was nowhere to be seen.

"He's here!" Ariana said, pointing to the floor. He was unconscious at her feet, his limp hand in hers. "He was a little harder to get to snap out of it. So I kind of had to result to some drastic measures."

"Wait, how did you guys snap out of it in the first place?" I asked confused.

"It was actually Percy…" Ari began. Really? Percy?

"Yeah." His face was bright red. I looked at him surprised. "I met this guy and well… I'll tell you later."

"Yeah. Let's get out of here." I looked around. All of the casino workers were staring at us. "I'm getting creeped." Carefully, Percy and Ari picked up Grover, and we walked, no ran out.

As we burst into the sunlight, I felt tired and hungry, just like I had before we entered the Casino. We ran away from the entrance, desperate to get away from that place. We walked up the busy street, getting weird looks, as we were carrying a passed out teenage down the Strip. But then again, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

"Oh Gods no." Ari's breath hitched and she stopped in her tracks.

"What?" I said nervously.

"Look at that paper." She motioned nervously to the newsstand across the sidewalk. "Look at the date."

The color from my face drained when I read it.

We had been in the Casino for 4 and ½ days. We only had a day and a half left before the Solstice.

"Oh Crap."

 **My contest is still open, just check out the latter chapter. PM me if you think you know who Ari's parent is. And please pleas please review!**

 **Character of the Day- the 70s dude in the Casino**


	21. It is CHARON with an A

**Here is the next chapter. Please let me know what you think about it. I love reveiws and criticism. It really makes me happy. And even better, share this story with your friends. It would really help me a lot if you could get the word out. And please, follow, favorite, and review! Review! Thank you for everyone who favorites and follows my story. You guys are the real MVPs.**

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 **Percy X**

I promise you that you will never see a cab driver more freaked out then when four homeless looking teenagers climb into his cab, tell him to step on it, all the way from Vegas to Los Angeles, and give him a Lotus Casino Credit card, which must have absolutely no limit on it, and tell him not to ask any questions. If you don't believe me, well, I guess it's your loss. Trust me. He was freaked out.

The cab ride took almost only about half the time it would normally take, considering we told the cabby to go as fast as we wanted, and swore to pay whatever fee he had. It was like riding on a rollercoaster, and apparently, Grover got motion sick.

"Uugh." he moaned, his face turning green.

"So," Annabeth said, leaning away from the sickly satyr. "We only have about a day and a half before the Solstice. We need to get to LA, find the entrance to the Underworld, get into the Underworld, find the master bolt, steal it, and bring it back to Olympus."

"All without getting killed in the process." Ari finished, her hands twisting as she rebraided her hair. "Sounds like a case of proverbial cake. Now, first question. Where is the entrance to the U? I mean, I know it's in LA, but where? How do we find it?"

"I don't know." Annabeth sighed, pulling her hair into a ponytail. Wow, she looked beautiful. Her curls fell in front of her face, and her gray eyes were focused. She had a cute little dimple on her left cheek, and her nose was kind of twitching...hold up. Back it up. Back to reality. Focus Percy. I stared at the backpack in my hands. Why had Ares given this to me? He wasn't a nice God. He didn't help heroes. I opened the back and looked in it again. Same stuff, oreoes, water, a flashlight, and...wait. What was this? There was a piece of paper in the bottom. I pulled it out and saw it was a pamphlet, for DOA Recording Studios. What?

"Guys," I interrupted. "Look at this. Where is this place?" I handed the paper to Annabeth. She examined it.

"Huh." she flipped it open. "Driver, bring us to DOA Recording Studios." The driver looked at her through the mirror.

"What? Sorry little lady, but I have never heard of that place. Where is it near?" the cabby asked.

"Oh, uh, Donaldson Avenue, Downtown LA." Ari responded. The cabby nodded and kept going. In a few minutes, we were there. We left the card in the cab and slid out onto the busy street. The street was lined with department stores and banks. People were crowding the sidewalks. No DOA. Huh. Why would Ares give us a brochure to a place that doesn't exist.

"Huh." I said out loud.

 **(Read my Author's note. Submit a character to my contest and please review.)**

We started walking down the street, looking around everywhere. Everything was in place. Nothing was different about it, until...there it was. A huge, marble building with large brass doors, and inscriptions in in Greek at the top. DOA Recording Studios it read. The room seemed to make everything cold, and the wind picked up. The street got a little darker, and everyone seemed to be skirting around it, but absentmindedly, like they didn't know they were doing it.

"Oh yeah." Ari nodded.

"This is it." Annabeth said. Together, we pulled open the giant, heavy door and slipped inside the room. Everything inside was chrome and sleek black leather. There were sofas and chairs centered around metal coffee tables. A large desk, like one you would see at a bank. Behind it, there was a tall man. He had short cropped gray hair, black eyes. When I say back, I do not mean dark brown. I mean black. Solid black. He wore a fancy black suit. There was a silver elevator across from him, and there was a large line next to it. But the weirdest thing about this place was the people in it. They all wore the same blank expression. And they were all kind of, shimmery, like the spirits at Camp.

"Is everyone in here...?"I started to ask.

"Dead?" Annabeth finished. "Yes." We walked up to the counter. The man did not look up."Uh uugh." she cleared her throat. He looked up.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a deadpan voice.

"Yes." Ariana said in a deep, gruff voice. "We need to get to the Underworld." He looked at us skeptically.

"Because we are dead." Grover added, awkwardly.

"Yeah, nice try kids." The guy shook his head, his voice low. "But I know dead. And you, you are not dead. Wait, how did you get in here in the first place?" He studied us for a few moments. "Oh, demigods. Yeah, well sorry. No Underworld for you." I read his name tag.

"Oh come on, Chiron. We need to get in." I implored, stepping closer to the counter.

The man rolled his eyes. "Why is my name always confused with that idiotic centaur. It is CHARON with an A not Chiron with an I. Uugh. And still no. You can not go there."

"Why not?" I asked skeptically.

"Only dead people can go to the Underworld, child. Now, come back when you are dead. Tata." Charon waved his hand at us as if to dismiss us. I shared a look with Annabeth and Ari, and they nodded. I knew what I had to do. I pulled the sack of golden drachmas out of my bag. It was so on.

"What if we were to say, up the bargain?" I grinned, dropping a few gold coins onto the counter. Charon grunted and shook his head. "Fine." I groaned "Fine you win. But, I bet you we come back later, when we are dead, and they are paying you the same amount, forcing you to work the same menial job. And when that happens, don"t complain to me." i said the last few words slowly, adding more drachmas on with every word, until the stack was very high. Charon's eyes widened. After a moment of thought, he pulled the stack closer to him.

"Fine. Fine. I"ll bring you down. Gods know why in the Hades you want to go down there." He shook his head, and walked out from behind the counter. Slowly, he lead us over to the elevator, past the groaning crowd of dead people, and pressed the button. There was a dinging noise and the doors opened up, revealing a sleek silver elevator. We followed him in, and Charon began to shove dead people out who were trying to claw their way in. Quickly, the doors shut, and we were inside of the dark elevator,listening to music that sounded slightly like Bohemian Rhapsody. Weird.

"Just warning you." Charon said slowly. "I can get you in, but I cannot get you out. That is your job. I can't do anything for you."

"It's alright." Annabeth said quietly. "With what we're doing, we should get out soon enough. We have a way out." It was true. Along with the bag, Ares had given us four pearls. When we were ready to get out, all we had was smash them on the ground at are feet and we were home free. Getting out was the easy part. Getting in and finding the bolt, and stealing it, that was the hard part. "We have a way out."

We rode in silence for the rest of the way, until Charon started to change. His suit transformed into a long black cloak. A large scythe formed in his hands, and his face turned dark. The doors dinged open. We were there. The Underworld. Oh what did we get ourselves into?

 **My contest is till open, so please submit! Also, if you want to guess Ari's parent, send me a PM.**

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 **Character of the Day- Charon**


	22. Hades Throws a Tantrum

**Chapter 21! I hanged a couple things, but I still hope you like it. My contest is still open, so go check out my author': note. A huge shoutout to all of my followers, reveiewers, and favorites. You guys are the reason I write. Much love. Please review if you like my story! Please!**

Ariana VI

Everything was cold.

I looked up, and all I could see was black, like a bottomless pit that went up. The land around me why red and gray, and it was completely dry and arid, like I was in the middle of a desert. That is, except for the fact that there was a river flowing right infron of us, heading straight forwards.

The River Styx.

"Get in the boat." Charon moaned, his black form leading us to a small boat on the river. Tentatively, Annabeth, Percy, Grover, and I got in and Charon clammored in last. Slowly, we set sail across the River. All of us were careful not to touch the murky water. I disn't know what would happen if we did, but I couldn't imagine it was good.

We floated along for what could have been minutes or hours. I'm not entirely sure. I honestly had no concept of time at this moment. All that I knew was that we were here. Right now. In the Underworld.

Suddenly, the boat lurched and we came to a stop. There was a rickety wooden dock next to us. Nobody said anything, but we all knew that we had to get off here. Slowly, we climbed out, still careful.

We walked forwards on the sandy ground. "Where exactly are we going?" Grover asked the obvious question. My breath hitched as I looked up and saw it. A massive black, iron gate with a fence that I could not see the end on either side. Past the gate, there was one of the biggest castles I had ever seen, and it was completely iron. The palace of Hades.

"There." Annabeth pointed to the palace. "That is where we need to go."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

My breathing was heavy as we ran through the Feulds of Ashphodel. "Who knew you could get past Cerberus just by throwing a red rubber ball?" I laughed slightly, even though the entire experience had been slightly terrifying. "Now what?" We stopped to catch our breath.

"Now we need to find a way to get to Hades and get the bolt back. And not die in the process." Annabeth said.

"Sounds easy." Percy shrugged. I smiled. He had a nice sense of humor. I looked around and took in the fact that we were standing in the middle of a feild of dead people. People who did not know who they were, who did not know anything, and wouldn't for the rest of eternity.

"Well, whatever we are going to do, let's get out of here quick. I'm a little freaked." I shuddered.

"Wonderful." A gravelly voice said behind me. We turned to see the skeleton of a Confederate soldier standing there. "Because Lord Hades does not like to be kept waiting." And all of the sudden, there was way more than one of him. There were at least fifty. And then, they swarmed us and carried us off towards the castle.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hades's palace was pretty incredible. The walls were made of black marvel and the columns of pure gold. Jewels encrusted everything and diamonds hung from the ceilings. It seemed appropriate for the lord of the dead. But, the most impressive part was the throne room.

The ceilings were at least fifteen stories high, and a brilliant fire roared in an iron fire place. Diamond and Gold chandeleris floated in mid air. Three thrones loomed infront of us. The smallest was apparently made of wheat. Demeter. The medium sized one was formed by intertwining flowers and trees. Persephone. The last one, the biggest one in the middle was extremely big, and made of….oh gods. Bones and some evil force that held it all together. The throne of Hades.

But they were all empty. The skeletons set us down and suddenly disappeared. We were all alone I this room, and even though I knew she was scared, I knew Annabeth was of going the architecture. Come on, it's Annie.

Suddenly, a deep voice boomed. "The Son of Poseidon is here at last. And he brought some friends. At last. Where is it?" All of the sudden, a man and two women appeared infront of us. The two women looked very similar, same long brown hair and bright green eyes, but one looked much older, like a mother and daughter. Demeter and Persephone. The man had long, salt and pepper hair. He wore a black suit, but there was something about it. There seemed to be faces, ever changing, inside the suit. I had heard about this. They were souls. Souls of the most evil people in the world. This was Hades.

"Lord Hades." Percy spat, setting his backpack down.

"Hello." Hades said curtly. "Nice of you to finally show up. Do you have it?"

"You have it." Percy growled back, putting his hand in his pocket, probably reaching for Riptide.

"I do not believe we are on the same page, child. Where is my helm? I know you have it."

Ok, now I was confused.

"What? We don't have your Helm of Darkness. You have the Master Bolt." Annabeth snarled, crossing her arms.

"Quiet Brain Child." Hades rolled his eyes at her. "Alas, I do not have the Bolt. A thuroughly genius plan though. Coming down, framing me, all the while keeping my helm from me."

"We do not have your Helm!" Percy screamed. "But you do have my mother. Give her and the Bolt back, now." Percy was pissed.

"Oh, that woman. Ah yes. I do have your mother, but still not the Bolt, but I know you have my Helm. I can sense it." Hades said slowly. "Let us make a trade. Percy rolled his eyes. Suddenly, a figure materialized out of dust. All of the sudden, there was a woman standing in front of us. She had long brown hair, blue eyes, and a warm smile.

"Mom." Percy gasped. So this was what Percy's mom looked like. He tried to reach for her, but Hades shoved him back.

"Not so fast boy. First the Helm."

"For the last time I do not have your…" His backpack began to glow. I mean glow. It looked like it was catching on fire. Quickly, I ran to it and opened it up. Inside there was a black helmet. As soon as I touched it, my entire body went cold. This was it. I grabbed it, and yanked it out of the bag.

"Uh, Percy. I think we have his Helm." I stuttered. Everyone stared at me except for aha fed. He lunged for it and ripped it out of my hands.

"I knew you were lying you insolent boy. Just like your old man." He sneered. He grabbed Percy's mom by the arm and shoved her forwards. Percy grabbed her. "Here you go Perseus. Your trade. Now be gone." He waved his hand dismissively at us.

"No." Annabeth snapped. "Where is the master Bolt?"

"I told you you stupid girl that I DO NOT HAVE IT!" He screamed. "I do not know who has the Noly. I assumed it was you, as you clearly took my Helm for your father. Whoever took the Bolt is looking to start a war, but it was not me. NOW BE GONE!" He disappeared in a cloud of smoke and was replaced by an army of skeletons, ready to kill. I guess our time in the underworld was over. Instinctively, I reached for the pearl in my pocket. (A/N I changed it so they do actually have four pearls, for the sake of keeping things brief) Annabeth and Grover did the same. Percy handed one to his mother and held one in his hand. As the skeletons advanced, we smashed the pearls at our feet, and were suddenly enveloped infour bubbles, and we began floating up and up.

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 **Character of the Day- Cerberus**


	23. Ares Is a Douchebag

**We are almost done with book one! Only two or three hapters left. Please leave a review or favorite or follow my story! Thank you for all of your support. If you want to know who Ari'/ parents are, just PM me, and I will let you know! See you later! Merry Christmas everyone!**

Percy XI

"Well kid, I'm the God of War? What do you expect!" Ares screamed at me, pointing the large sword right at me. His eyes blazed like fire and his voice boomed like thunder. Ari stood strong next to me, her eyes glazed in irritation. Annabeth was to my other side, her expression fierce as the God stared us down.

How the heck did we end up here?

Let's go back about half an hour.

We floated up and up, towards the insanely high roof of Hades' palace. Crapity crapity crap! We're gonna hit the ceiling! Omigods! Omigods! Omigods! We're gonna…

We didn't hit the ceiling. We just went through it. Right on through. We traveled up and up, right to the dark top of the underworld and into the..

Water was all around us. Waves broke over and around us. I saw my friend's heads bobbing up and down in the water. My mother was right next to me. We were in the ocean.

"Percy!" Annabeth spat. "What the..how the..we need to…." she spluttered.

"I know." I shouted over the water. I looked over and saw Ari and Grover treading water next to me. I knew we couldn't stay out here for long. We had to find a way...I saw a giant boat come into view. The side of the boat told it all. US Coast Guard.

The boat came closer to us, and suddenly a life raft came down. "Climb on!" A voice rang out. We did as we were told, frantically swimming. I willed myself to make my clothes wet. I assumed the coast guard would be a little confused as to why I was completely dry. They pulled up the boat and we stepped onto the giant ship. They stared at the four of us questionably.

"Did the quake take you out their?" A petty officer asked.

"What?" Annabeth said.

"The earthquake? You know, the worst one LA has seen in years?"

"Oh." We all said together.

"Yes. Yes. The earthquake." Annabeth quickly said. "We were, on a boat, and the quake knocked us off, and we lost the boat, and yeah. That's how we got in the middle of the water."

"Yes. I was driving." My mother piped up, ringing out her shirt. She was always good in a crisis.

"Yeah. That is what happened." I added awkwardly.

We rode the boat all the way back to the shore. It was a mess there. Buildings had fallen, and rubble was on fire. Power lines had fallen and cars had crashed. This was a terrible earthquake.

"We caused this." Ariana whispered. "When Hades yelled, he must have caused this."

Woah.

We stepped off the boat and onto the beach, still sopping wet. The beach was deserted, except for one lone figure standing alone.

Ares.

"Oh crap." I said.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the Golden Child himself." Ares snarled. "You made it out alive?"

"Yeah. You see, we figured out your little plan. You sabotaged us."

"You sent us down there so Hades would get mad at us. You knew he wanted the Helm." Ari added. "And you knew Percy would go to great lengths to save his mother." Ares tried to speak up, but she stopped him. "I am not finished you dirt bag. So, you got the Helm in the bag, and you knew Hades would try and kill Percy. But, you never imagined that Hades would let us go, now did you?"

"No. if Hades killed Percy, Poseidon would start a war with Hades. Zeus would then blame Poseidon and Hades for taking his Bolt, and an all out war between the gods would begin." Ares yelled in a gruff voice.

"Why would you want that?" Annabeth cried. "That is not logica! The gods are your family! Why would you want this!"

"Think about it girl. I am the god of WAR! Carnage and destruction, it is what I thrive on! And the gods, please. They are no kinder to their own family than they are to their enemies. Look at your little friend their." He pointed to Ariana. "She has lived her whole life with no family, all alone, do you think the gods give two craps about her?"

If I was ever going to witness someone biting someone else, it was going to be now. I swear Ari almost bit Ares.

I really wish she had.

"I was about to start a war. But you stopped me." Ares finished.

"But that leaves one question." Percy started. "Where is the Bolt?"

"Ahh yes. The Bolt. I have it with me."Ares said. "But there is no way I am giving it to you. You're just lucky I didn't kill your weak mortal mother first."

"Well then, there is one way." Percy stepped forwards. "I know there is one thing you actually honor. So, I challenge you to a duel."

The only thing Ares followed through on were duels. Even in legends, he always held his end of the deal. It was his only code.

"Fine then. If you win, you get the Bolt and you get to get away. But if I win," he laughed. " I will get to turn you and all of your pretty little friends into whatever I want."

"Deal."

And that is what brings us back to where we are now.

I had drawn my sword and Are had drawn his. I had pushed my companions back, ignoring the terrified cries my mother gave to me. And then, the fight had begun.

Ares moved like a bat out of hell. He flew from one place to another, smashing and stabbing with perfect form. Right now, I thanked the good Gods for my lessons with Luke. I was matching him stride for stride.

Now I just needed to find his weakness.

"The Water Percy! Water!" Annabeth always new what to say and when to say it.

I thought back to that night in the creek, Capture the Flag, when the water from the creek had healed me. Of course. Water would make me stronger, would help me win. I had to get into the ocean.

So, I ran. I ran as fast as I could towards the ocean.

"That's right. Run boy, run! You know you can't win!"

By now, a crowd had formed around us. Not until now, I hadn't noticed that there was a squadron of police surrounding the beach.

"Put down the guns!" The screamed. Ah. They thought we were holding guns.

Ares ignored them. He chased after me towards the ocean, too absorbed in the fight to think of my plan. He stepped into the surf, and started slashing at me, and that was when I saw it. His flaw.

He only protected his top half, not his legs. There was an opening.

So I went for it. I dove towards his ankle with all of my might and slashed, right at his ankle.

Ares screamed in pain and feel, golden I got flowing from the crippling wound in his leg. He dropped his sword, and I kicked it away into the current.

"You...you won." He looked at me in shock, as did the rest of my companions. "The Bolt is in the bag. But I am warning you. The next time you charge into battle, when you need it most, your weapon will fail you."

"Well, that's what you get for insulting and threatening my mother." I spat at his face. And then, I ran towards the backpack, simultaneously with the rest of my friends. We had done it. We found it.

When we got to the bag, it began to grow hot and glow.

"You made a big mistake making an enemy of the war god!" Ares screeched as the light got bright, and we were suddenly enveloped, and transported through space and time.

 **Character of the day- Persephone**


	24. The Throne Room is Way Too Tense

**Only 1 or 2 more chapters to go! Thank you so much to all of you for reading my story. If you have any ideas or questions, PM me! Please, leave a review for me, please! I really like it when you guys respond. It makes it all worth while.**

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 **Annabeth VI**

For a moment, I felt lost in space. Lost in time. I was not here nor there. We were nowhere and everywhere at the same time. We were bending the space time continuum.

And suddenly, we were back. Back to the earth, back to the real world. On solid ground. But when I looked around, I knew that we could not be back to the real world. There was no way this was real.

We were standing on a beautifully paved street. All around buildings stood tall, gleaming bright, built of solid white marble and encrusted with gold. Fires burned in bronze brassiers on balconies and patios. Wildflowers bloomed in ornate clay pots, their petals gleaming brightly in the sunlight. Percy, Grover, and Ariana were standing next to me. I did not know where Percy's mom was, but that did not matter now. I knew exactly where we were.

Mt. Olympus. I had been here once before, and it was just as beautiful as it was now.

"Where are we?" Percy asked. I wanted to roll my eyes at him. We had just been on a trip here not even a year ago with the rest of the camp. How could he...oh. He had only arrived at camp two weeks ago. Wow. Just wow. It had seemed like she had known him for much, much longer. He fit in so well with all of them. He belonged with us. He belonged at Camp Half Blood. He was...well, he was family to Annabeth.

Of course, she would never say that to him ever. Ever. She valued her status as the smartest, most feared girl in camp too much.

"Mt. Olympus." Ari answered for me. Thank the gods.

"Woah." Percy's eyes got huge. "Wait, why are we here?"

I got back into the conversation. "Well, after we got the bolt back, Zeus must have sensed it. He must have transported us here."

"Wait, where is my mother?" Percy asked, all of the sudden absolutely terrified.

"Calm down mama's boy." I smiled. "Mortals can't get into Olympus without special permission, like Camp. She's probably just on the first floor, or in the elevator." That seemed to calm him down.

"Now, now." Grover finally spoke up. "We need to get this show on the road. The clock's ticking!" He was right. We had to return the bolt, immediately. Even right now, I could hear thunder all around us. The gods were very angry, and if we did not get in there soon, the all out war would start.

"Well all right then." Ari shook her whole body in a cleansing move. "Let's way." She started down the paved street, with us close on her tail. She knew where she was going, and I knew it too. We were going to the throne room.

 **Guys, I just thought about this, but if you want to know who Ari's parents are, just PM me and I will tell you.**

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

We ended up in front of the largest brass door I have ever seen. It towered over us. I knew that the gods used this to intimidate demigods and other annoying people that they did not want to be bothered by. I also knew that on the other side of the door, there was the throne room, and the animosity in there was electric. Literally. I could see sparks under the door. I could hear shouts and thunder coming from inside the room. Oh great.

"Well, now I guess we knock." Grover was pale. His rasta cap was tilted so his face was slightly hidden. I knew that was on purpose. Percy stepped forwards and knocked on the door. Quickly, the shouting stopped, and the door groaned and slowly opened. Here we go.

Slowly, Percy walked into the room, with me and Ari on his tail, and Grover bringing up the rear. For some reason, it felt like we were on a death march. We walked into the center of the throne room, and I could see Percy's eyes get huge.

The Big Twelve Gods and Goddesses were all around us. I saw Dionysus i n his hawaiian print shirt. Aphrodite examined all of us carefully, stopping and smirking at me. Gods, I did not like her. Of course, Ares was there, glaring at Percy with the most terrifying eyes I have ever seen, but he stayed silent. Artemis and Apollo simply looked bored, and Athena was also glaring at Percy. At the front of the room, though, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades were in the midst of a heated discussion. As we stopped in the center of the room, their argument ceased, and they all turned to face us.

Percy's breath hitched next to me, and I saw Ariana put her hand peacefully on his back. Then it occurred to me. This was the first time Percy had ever seen his father. Wow this had to be an emotional time for him.

"Well." Zeus said in a stoic voice. "If it isn't my brother's son, the child who should not exist. Who did you bring with you?"

"I am Annabeth Chase." I stepped forwards, bowing slightly. "Daughter of Athena." I turned and bowed a little to my mother. She just stared at me, calculatingly. What's new.

"I'm Grover Underwood, a satyr." Zeus looked our friend up and down, as if remembering Thalia, and what had happened to her.

"And I'm Ariana Morusso." Ari stepped forwards. "Unclaimed." she spat that word slightly, eyeing every God and Goddess in the room. Yeah. She wasn't exactly their biggest fan.

"Now, I see that Camp truly sent the biggest group of misfits they could to finish this quest." Zeus rolled his eyes. "Now, where is the bolt."

Percy reached grudgingly into his backpack next to me. Carefully, I watched as he pulled something out of it. It was a cylinder, about two feet long, that glowed brilliantly, and just radiated power and electricity. It was amazing. The Master Bolt. The whole room got quiet.

Without even a second moment's notice, Zeus lunged for the Bolt. He took it in his hand, and what happened next was like a scene from a movie. He held the Bolt above his head, and summoned all of the electricity in the room. Then, he pointed it at the sky and shot the largest bolt of lightening I have ever seen into the the high, high ceiling of the throne room. Well, Zeus always did love a dramatic moment.

"Well then." Zeus said, calming down. "It's about time you returned it. Alright, you may go now."

"Woah, woah, woah." Poseidon joined the conversation. "You cannot just blame my son for something as big as taking your Bolt, and then just dismiss him as soon as the matter is resolved. You and I both know for a fact that he did not take it in the first place."

"Woah, woah." Percy said, in almost the exact same way his father said it. "You guys know that I did not take it?"

"How?" Ariana asked.

"Just a few moments before you came in," Hades spoke up, "Ares came in and explained the whole thing."

"The whole thing?" Percy said, looking skeptically at the war god.

"Yes. He ran in and told us the whole thing. He told us how his dreams and his actions were being controlled by someone other than himself. And the person that was controlling him got a demigod accomplice to steal my Helm and the Master Bolt and planted them with Ares. He was never trying to start anythings, and he knew that the only way to get the Helm back to me was to give it to a demigod, as he cannot transport it himself."

That was a load of absolute BS. I mean, come on, seriously? An evil force? That is not poss….oh gods. Oh gods no.

"Wait, what is the evil force?" Percy asked the three brothers. Zeus and Hades rolled their eyes, but Percy and Poseidon had their eyes locked with one another, and it was at this moment that I realised that they had the exact same eyes.

"It's a who." Athena said calmly, standing up from her throne. "Kronos."

And it was at this moment the Ari went absolutely pale. She stepped back started rubbing her hands together. All of the gods looked at her questionably, but she did not seem to notice. Nobody else knew this, but Kronos was still taking her dreams. Every night she was taken back to that dark place, on the edge of Tartarus.

"kr..Kronos?" Percy was also pale. "I thought he was gone. He was dead."

"Gods don't exactly die Percy. And titans, they can't die either." Ari told him, suddenly getting her strength back. "That is why Zeus cut him up and cast him into Tartarus. Hopefully he will never get out."

"Your unclaimed little friend is right." Zeus said. Ari rolled her eyes at his smugness. "But my father is reforming, deep in the depths of Tartarus. He is powerful enough to enter people's dreams."

Oh trust me. We all know.

"Well, now, you all really must go. We still have a meeting to go through with and a father rising from the dead to deal with. Now shoo." He waved his hand at us.

"Oh, brother," Poseidon stepped forwards, "I was wondering if I could have a moment, to talk, with my son. In private." Zeus looked at Percy and his father for a moment before nodding his head.

"Uh, follow me son." Poseidon motioned for Percy to follow him into a side room. Percy looked at ARi and I hesitantly, as if he was wondering if this was a good idea. Both of us nodded. Slowly, he followed his father and they closed the door behind them.

"Ok, now go." Zeus said again.

"FIne." Ari rolled her eyes, turning to leave.

"Alright." I nodded my head. "Goodbye mother." I nodded to her again.

She took a step towards me. "Annabeth, though I do not approve of the boy you traveled with, I am glad that you were their to settle this mess and return the Bolt. It helps keep the pride of the Athena name going." She nodded at me. "But, from now on, try and stay away from the Percy boy. Children of Poseidon are bad news."

"Trust me mother." I smiled. "I am sure this will be my last quest with Percy. I probably won't be spending much more time with him from now on. **(Hehehe)** Goodbye mother." I turned and walked with Ari out of the room. As the brass door closed, I saw Ari slump down to the ground next to me.

"What's wrong Ari?" I asked, concerned.

"I just, just, they just, they bother me." She groaned. "I stood there, in the middle of all of them, and none of them even paid attention to me. They just looked at me. One of them is my parent, and they did not even care. They are just a bunch of self-centered, obnoxious jerks. They don't care about us at all. I hate them. I hate them all."

"Look Ari, I know why you feel this way. You're sad because they have not claimed you, but they are not all bad. But I know how you feel. I feel like they ignore us too." I tried to reason.

"No. You do not know how I feel!" She yelled. "You don't know! You have been claimed for years. You know who you are, where you come from. You even have a mortal family. Me, I have nobody"

"Ari, that is not true." I shook my head, sitting next to her. "You do have people. You have Me, and you have Luke, and, heck, you even have Percy. You are the furthest thing from alone."

"Thanks Annie. Thanks for listening to my rant and every bad things I have to say. You are like my sister, and I love you for that. But, I just think I need to get out into the world, to see what the mortal world is like."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"This year, I want to go to school. Like actual, real world school." she smiled at me. "I think I am ready."

"That's great!" I smiled.

"What's great?" I heard a voice behind us. We turned to see Percy standing there. I couldn't see how he was feeling, but whatever he felt, I am sure it was strong.

"I'll tell you later." Ari smiled, standing up. "Now let's get back to camp. They probably think we're dead."

Ha. True.

 **Thank you guys fro reading. Be sure to leave a review or PM me if you want to enter my contest or know who Ari's parents are.**

 **Character of the day; Cerberus**


	25. How Could You?

**Only one chapter left! Thanks for all the reviews and PMs, and I really really hope I get some More! Thanks for reading!**

 **Ariana VII**

If you had told me years ago that I would save the world alongside Annabeth, Grover, and a random boy I just met, I would have laughed at you. I wasn't anyone. Now, even the gods know my name.

I'm still a little miffed that I haven't been claimed yet.

But I digress.

It has been one week since we got back, and everything changed. Now, we are respected. Everybody watches Percy with wide eyes like at some moment he'll do something amazing. It makes him really uncomfortable. I love it.

The mood is bright. Every one is smiling and happy, and we are all enjoying the last few weeks of the summer, before we have to go back. Even Clarissa is being decent, which is saying something. Percy and Annabeth are now getting really close. They say they are just friends, but I know that they feel something more. They just don't know it themselves yet.

The only person who isn't acting happy is Luke. He seems, cold, distant, jealous even. When we got back, he gave us a hollow smile, and numbly congratulated us, but something about him seemed off. I think it's because our quest was successful, and his last quest was…..well, not.

I didn't think much of it.

That is, until the day before the end of the year.

I always hated the last day. Of course, I never left camp for the school year, but it was always sad when all of my summer friends left. The camp felt so empty and quiet, and it always made me a little sad. While everyone else was cleaning and packing and saying goodbyes, I decided to go for a walk, to clear my head.

I took my favorite path. It went straight from the Hermes cabin to the beach, where it wound its way through through the woods, around Zeus's Fist, near a couple caves, around a small lake, and eventually found its way back to the dining pavilion. I really loved that path. I took me all over, to my favorite places. It was too long for just a leisurely stroll, so it was usually empty. It gave me time to relax.

As I stepped out of my crowded cabin, I saw Percy disappearing down a path into the woods. Huh. He must be going for a walk too. It seemed like a popular thing to do today. Just minutes ago, Luke had left for a walk too.

I tied up my dark hair in a high ponytail. I lightly jogged down the first half of the path, all the way down to the beach. It was my exercise for the day.

The water was calm today, the wind hitting me with just a little bit of salty ocean air. The sun was slowly rising above the trees. It was a wonderful day today. I wish we had more days like this.

After a moment of relaxation, I kept walking, this time towards the woods. I heard the strange noises that always emerged from the woods, and I smiled. This place was home, all of its flaws and all.

It was cool and shady in the forest. I took a sip from my water bottle and breathed in the fresh air. It smelled like water and dirt. I always loved that smell. It reminded me of my home. Here.

It seemed like I walked for hours before I heard a noise not far from me. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Who's there?" I called, tentatively stepping forward.

\- **Send me a PM if you want to know who Ari'a parents are, what her future is like, anything about her you want to know. Also, please review!-**

"It's just me." A voice called. Luke stepped out from under a tree, and backpack slung over his shoulder, his sword at his side.

"Luke! You scared me!" I let my breath out and relaxed slowly. "You really shouldn't scare someone like that, well, not a friend anyway."

Luke let out a slow laugh, but it was more angry than happy, like he was mad about something. I looked at his face, and immediately knew that something wasn't right. His eyes were sunken and his face was hollow. His skin pale and more yellow than normal, the scar on his face even more prominent than ever.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing." He spat.

"What's wrong?" I asked again.

"How do you deal with it?" He said slowly.

"With what?"

"How do you deal with not knowing who you are, who your parents are every day?" He asked, his voice hard. "How do you deal with having to wake up every single day and have to deal with all of this crap? The gods use us as pawns in their game of chess. They claim that they care for us, but only use us when it's good for them. They won't hesitate to throw us out on our asses, and watch us go down. They don't care about us!"

"Luke!" I took a step back, surprised by his sudden outburst. "What's wrong with you? Why are you acting out?"

"Why aren't you! How do you not scream at the gods every single day? How do you not curse their names and want to do everything in your power to knock them off of their thrones?"

"Why are you talking like this?" I asked. I took a step away from him. He was starting to freak me out.

"Because Ari. I have a way where we can knock them down. We can change the whole system. Us demigods, we can take control. There is someone that can help us take control."

"What….." And it was at that moment when everything made sense. "You're the one who stole the Bolt, last year on the trip. You were the one let the hellhound in! That's why you were so insistent on Percy going. That's why you were sonpissed when we succeeded! You…. you wanted us to fail."

"You're working for Kronos."

"And you should be too! Don't you hate the Gods? If we join Kronos, we have a chance to overpower those bastards. We can take what is rightfully ours."

I stood there, still in shock. It was him, the whole time. And now, he was telling me that he was working with Kronos, and he wanted me to join him.

"No, Luke." I said. "No."

"No?" He asked. "Did you just say no to the Titan Lord Kronos?" He loomed over me.

"Yes. I said no." My voice quavered, but I held my ground.

"You are telling me that you don't feel the slightest urge to join Kronos? You don't feel that internal pull that is dragging you towards him! Ari, you know there is something about him you are drawn to. Look inside. You know why."

I shook my head. "No. I refuse. Yes, the gods bother me, but I have no desire to going Kronos to fight them. And you shouldn't either. No Luke. No."

He looked at me with his ice blue eyes, his state sending chills down my spine. "Then I'm sorry Ari. I'm sorry I have to do this."

Then he lunged.

I tried to dodge, but he was much bigger than me. I had nowhere to go. The next moment he had me held tight to his body, and he stabbed a needle into my arm.

"What the…"

"Shhh." He put a hand over my mouth. I felt my body go numb, and my vision went a blurry. "I'm sorry it had to go this way, but there is one more person I have to see."

And with that, he let me go, and I crumpled, unconscious to the ground.

 ** _Character of the Day- the Scorpion that almost kills_** _ **Percy**_


	26. Stronger than She Looks

**Here it is y'all! The final chapter in book 1. Check for** ** _The Sea of Monsters soon._** **Let me know what you think of my story. I would love any kind of feedback whatsoever! Literally, your reviews make my life! Please enjoy!**

 **Annabeth VII**

My siblings were running around me, scrambling to finish up their packing, to check under bunks, under chairs, near the sink, making sure they did not leave anything behind. The harpies were pretty strict when it came time for people to leave and, let's just say, they weren't very considerate of things left behind. Fortunately, I never had to worry about that. I never left this place at the end of the summer. I just stayed here, with Luke and Ari and Clarisse and a few others. It was okay. I had gotten used to it.

But this year, something was different. I was actually kind of sad at the end of this summer, and I knew exactly why.

Percy _freaking_ Jackson.

At the beginning of the summer, I had to admit, I kind of hated him. He was just another dumb, annoying teenager who had gotten my hopes up, only to let me down again. But, over the course of the summer, things had changed. I had started to see him in a whole new light. He was pretty smart, all things considered, really funny, clumsy, kind of dorky, and loyal to a fault. He had slowly become one of my best friends. I was going to miss him.

He was going back to New York for the school year. He was going back to live with his mother, who had finally his horrific stepfather. He was getting a shot at a normal life, well, as normal as it could get for a son of Poseidon. I was actually jealous, jealous that he had a chance to have a real family, and I did not.

I didn't understand why I was so jealous now. The majority of my friends had families out in the mortal world, parents and siblings. I didn't know why this one was hitting me so hard.

I decided to take a walk to clear my head.

Slowly, I slid off of my bunk, tying up my curls in a loose high ponytail. I had about an hour before the final breakfast was to begin, so I decided to stroll around the cabins, observing everyone as they prepared to set put into the mortal world.

Saying that the camp was busy was an understatement. It was absolute chaos! People were running around everywhere, flying from cabin to cabin, saying their last minute goodbyes to their friends, running into the bath houses to make sure they didn't leave anything behind. A few were playing one last game of basketball on the center court while older campers helped younger campers lug their stuff outside. This was one of the days where Camp Half-Blood felt like an actual mortal summer camp.

I decided to see Percy. I preferred to say goodbye in private, even if it wasn't emotional. I just hated crowds watching me. And, I had never been inside the Poseidon cabin before. I really wanted to see it.

I strolled down to Cabin 3. It was less busy over here than it was at the other end of the U. Obviously. Nobody lived in Cabin 1, 2, or 3, except Percy. I walked up the steps to the sea green, cabin looking building, and found that the door was ajar. I peered inside, not failing to notice that this was probably the emptiest looking cabin at camp. All that was in there was Percy's small knapsack, the Minotaur Horn, and some folded sheets. Percy, however, was nowhere to be found.

I shrugged my shoulders and turned around, heading out of the cabin. Percy had probably gone to say goodbye to Ari, or Luke. that's where I decided to head next, the Hermes Cabin. Oh gods, that place was probably a war zone by now. Gods help me.

I could hear the screams coming from the cabin, even from a few cabins away. I could tell it was the Stoll brothers, probably wreaking havoc on their siblings and unclaimed guests. I chuckled softly and rolled my eyes. Typical Hermes boys.

I knocked on the cabin door, and was met with the a chorus of "Come on in! Aagh more people! Please be an adult! And, Yessssss?" I pushed the screen door open. The room was a disaster area, just as I had suspected. Kids were here, there, everywhere. The Stolls were currently trying to get some kid's duffel bag out of the rafters. I looked around for Percy, but, to my surprise, he, Ari, and Luke were nowhere to be found.

"Anyone seen Ari or Luke?" I hollered over the chaos. I was met by only blank stares and a mumbled "About an hour ago…." Thanks. Real helpful guys.

Quickly, I left that cabin too. Too much noise was bad for me.

I stopped in the middle of the U, facing the forest. Maybe they had gone for a walk? Together? Maybe they were talking to Chiron. Maybe they were at the beach? I honestly had no clue where they were. Uuugh.

Suddenly, I saw a deformed figure walk out of the woods. It was moving in an awkward way, like it was in pain. My first thought was _Monster!_ And I was about to run at it, when it came a little closer, and I saw that it wasn't a monster at all. It was a person, a limping person, carrying something in its arms.

I noticed that it was running. Nobody else seemed to notice it. Now the figure was sprinting. I still couldn't tell who it was, it was too far away, but it started screaming something. I don't know what it was saying, but it was getting people's attention. I heard hoofbeats behind me, and turned to see Chiron running at us in full horse form running at us, his bow at the ready. Gods, he had keen eyes.

"What happened?" he asked in a shocked voice.

I turned around, and now I the figure was close enough that I could tell who it was. "Ari!' I screamed, rushing forwards. She was running as fast as she could towards us, carrying an unconscious Percy in her arms. How the heck she could lift him, I had no idea. Wait, now wasn't the time to worry about things like that.

We ran up to them and Ari dropped to her knees, setting Percy on the grass. He was pale, and there was a sickly green boil on his hand, oozing a purple liquid.

"Poison….scorpions." Ari breathed, leaning her hands against the ground. Gods, this kind of scorpion venom was deadly. If notsucked out, it could kill you in minutes. Ari seemed to read my mind, though. "I sucked..it…..out. Should be…..fine." She managed to get it out between breaths.

"It was Luke." Was all she said after a moment of silence.

"What?" Chiron said, the first to recover from the news she had just told us. What did Luke do?

"He was the spy. The leak. He let the hellhound into camp. He stole the master bolt. He is working for Kronos. He wants to take down the gods."

"What?" I shouted, a little louder than intended.

"Wait, wait, how do you know all this?" Chiron interjected. He looked as if he was trying to convince himself that Ari was lying, but we all knew that she didn't lie.

"He just told me." She said slowly. "He followed me out into the woods and cornered me. He told me everything, about how he was going to rule alongside Kronos and about how the gods were going to fade. Then, he asked me to join him. And, when I said no…...he drugged me."

She looked up at us and I reeled back at what I saw. Her face was deadly pale, even in the glaring sun. Her mismatched eyes were bloodshot and had a weird purple tint to them. Her veins were all red and she was shaking.

"It's not deadly. It just knocked me out." she reassured us. "I'm fine. I woke up just in time to hear him attack Percy. He tried to get him to join him, the same way he did to me. I got to Percy, just after Luke took off. I sucked the poison out, and I picked him up and ran here."

She was winded and weak. Her trembling body was hunched over.

I was still in shock from what she had just told me. Luke was the traitor. One of my oldest friends, my crush, my role model, was a traitor. How could he? How could he?

What a way to end my summer.

Little did I know, the rest of my life had just begun.

 **And that folks, is the end of** ** _The Lightening Thief_** **! Please leave a review on the whole story or any chapter, I would just absolutely love some feedback, so I know if I should bother with writing a sequel or not. Let me know!**

 **Character of the Day- the Cleaning Harpies**


	27. Note

**Hey guys! This is just an author's note.**

 **To all of my loyal readers, thanks for the support. To all the newbies, you guys rock too. This is just a fair warning to you all. By looking at how long it takes me to update,you can tell that I am not very consistent when it comes to my stories. Thank you for dealing with that by the way.**

 **i am just warning you that it might take me forever to update the new story or add anything whatsoever, so just be aware that this story may not update for a while. I am too immersed in my Host FanFiction and in my new Waking Dead fanfic: I have to wait until I am inspired again.**

 **Thanks for believing in me!**

 **love, Olivia**


	28. My Mom Loves Her More than Me

**So here's a fluffy little in between chapter. I decided to put it in because this storyline will come back in later stories and becomes a really big plot point. I hope you enjoy the cuteness. Let me know what you think about it.**

 **And, BTW, Never Underestimate a Half-Blood: The Sea of Monsters is in the works currently. So excited! Are you excited? Let me know!**

 **Percy XII**

I sat there on the couch, my body slumped down into the cushions. I let out a long sigh. All I wanted was to go back to camp. I wanted to see my friends again. Annabeth, Grover, Ariana. I missed sword fighting, boating, rock climbing, Capture the Flag on Fridays, meals in the pavilion. Gods, I missed camp.

And it doesn't help that I absolutely hate school. Seriously. I hate it. The classes are boring and the kids are mean, and having ADHD and dyslexia didn't help.

There were only three good things going on right now. 1, I finally had a friend at school. His name was Tyson. He was a seventh grader, but he was like 6'3 and built like a linebacker. And he was quiet, and sensitive. I was his only friend. Surprise, surprised

2, because I was at school, I got to stay with my mom. Just my mom. For the first time ever, it was just the two of us, no Smelly Gabe anywhere in sight. I loved that I was finally able to be with her.

And 3, I knew that as soon as school was over, I could go back to camp. That was what kept me going every day.

"Hey Percy!" My mom called. I heard the door close behind her. She walked into the kitchen, to where I could see her from the couch. Her long hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. She gave me a big smile.

"Hi mom." I waved at her, standing up off the couch. "How was your day?"

"Fine." She shrugged, opening the fridge. She reached in and pulled out the Tupperware container of leftover pasta. Gently, she set it on the counter. "You fine with leftovers?"

"Yup." I smiled, nodding my head. I came into the kitchen and grabbed two plates. Every night, the two of us hung out at dinner. We would talk about our days, I would tell her a camp story, she would tell me about annoying adults she met. It was awesome. It always left both of us in fits of hysterical laughter.

She sat down across from me, placing the pasta on the table. I piled some on my plate almost as soon as it hit the table, and my mom chuckled a little, giving herself a little less pasta than me. I was about to shovel a big forkful of food into my mouth when someone rang the doorbell.

"You expecting anybody?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No." She said, looking at me confused. "Are you?"

"No." I answered. We both stared in the direction of the door. Who in the Hades was at the door? The doorbell rang again. "Uh, I'll go get it."

I stood up and walked to the door, my hand in my pocket, clasping Riptide tightly. I slowly grabbed the handle, pulling my sword out of my pocket and uncapping it, so it extended to its full length. I was ready to fight whatever was behind that door. Carefully, I pulled it open to reveal…..

"Woah dude. Put the sword away. We're not here to rob you!" The girl in the doorway said. Her long hair was flowing freely in a mane around her head. She wore ripped jeans and a purple t-shirt with a leather jacket. Her eyes shone with amusement, and I knew just who she was.

"Ari?" I said, surprised.

"Hey there Seaweed Brain." She laughed. I rushed forward and wrapped her in a hug, squeezing her tightly.

"What are you doing here?" I pulled away, holding onto her shoulders so I could look at her.

"I came to visit my drug dealer." She said flatly. I stared at her, very confused. What? "No. I came to see you, you loser." She punched my shoulder gently.

I opened my mouth to say a smart remark back, but I was cut off by a shout from my mother. "Percy? Who is it?"

Ari gasped excitedly. "Is that your mom Percy? Is she here? Can I meet her?" She was practically shaking with excitement.

I didn't know why she was so excited to meet my mom. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Follow me." I motioned for her to follow me. I turned and walked towards the kitchen. "Mom this is Ariana." I gestured to Ari. My mom smiled, almost as excited as Ari was.

"This is her?" I nodded. "Oh, sweetie I've heard so much about you!" She walked closer to us.

Ari turned and looked at me and cocked an eyebrow. "Really? Well I hope they were good things." She teased.

"Um, I think?" I offered, shrugging my shoulders. Ari rolled her eyes and socked me in the shoulder again. I stepped back, clutching my wounded shoulder, faking hurt. That only caused her to roll her eyes.

"It's so nice to meet you Ariana!" My mom extended her arms, suggesting a hug. Ari looked hesitant at first. I knew she wasn't much for contact, but she eventually shrugged and accepted the invitation. My mother rushed forward and gave her a giant hug, causing Ari's eyes to widen in surprise. After a moment, my mom pulled away, letting her arms drop to her side.

"You can call me Ari, Mrs. Jackson." She said gently.

"Well, in that case, please, call me Sally." My mom smiled warmly. Abruptly, my stomach gurgled from hunger. Both of them looked at me and chuckled.

"You hungry Perce?" Ari joked at me. Then, her eyes flew to the table full of food next to my mom, and her face suddenly grew stern. "Oh. I interrupted your dinner. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." My mom waved her hand in the air. "Why don't you join us?"

"Oh, uh, I wouldn't want to intrude…" Ari began to sputter out things, nervously. Obviously she felt bad about intruding, and I fought the urge to laugh. I had never seen Ari at a loss for words before. She could face deadly monsters, evil Ares children, and even Hades himself, but couldn't respond to a simple question from my mortal mother?

"It's fine dear! I would love to hear some stories about camp from a perspective other than Percy's!" My mom shoved me a little, in a comical and loving way.

"Okay then." Ari gave a small smile. We all took our seats at the table, and I began to shovel food in my mouth. Ari and my mom shared a knowing look. I lifted my head up to see them, causing a few noodles to fall out of my mouth. Then, they burst out laughing. "What manners Seaweed Brain. What manners indeed."

I rolled my eyes and continued chewing. This caused them to laugh more.

Oh yeah. This was going to be a long dinner.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"And then...and then….." My mom was laughing so hard that she was struggling to get the words outs. "He ran through the living room….completely naked!" My face burned furiously red as Ari and my mom laughed their heads off.

This had been going on for almost an hour and a half. Both of them were sharing funny stories from their lives. And there was one thing that tied most of their stories together.

Me.

They were all embarrassing stories. Stories from the past summer, stories from when I was a little kid. They just went back and forth, swapping tales. And I was just sitting here, trying hard not to make eye contact with either of them. It was nice that they were getting to know each other, becoming friends, but it was not good that it was at my expense.

"Can we please talk about something else?" I groaned, hiding my face in my heads. "Anything? Please?"

"Sorry Percy." My mom chuckled. "It's just, these are funny stories that I can't share with mortals. Like the one where an empousa pruned off all your clothes."

"That was a traumatic memory!" I retorted. "I used to have nightmares about it all the time!"

"Sorry baby." My mom offered a smile, but I could tell it was fake. I just rolled my eyes at her. Ari was still laughing a little next to me, and I rolled my eyes at her too.

"Well, thank you for dinner Mrs- Sally. It was wonderful. Sorry to barge in like this. I am only in the city for a night before I have to go back to camp. I wanted to make sure Percy hadn't blown anything up or done anything stupid….or at least more stupid than he usually does." She gave me a crazy smile and stood up from her chair. "Thank you so much for having me."

"We would love to have you back any time dear." My mom smiled, standing as well. She moved forward and hugged Ari. And this time, Ari didn't look completely uncomfortable. She actually looked like she enjoyed the hug. It was a nice change, one that made me smile. "If you're ever in the city, you can crash on our couch."

"Thanks." Ari grinned. "I might just take you up on that offer." Then, she turned to me, a small smile on her face. "And you." She pointed at me. "Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"I'll try." I shrugged. She rolled her eyes and hugged me tightly.

"I'll see you this summer." She said. She slipped her jacket on and walked towards the door. I held it open for her, and she walked out. But, when she got in the hall, she stopped and turned around. "Oh, and by the way, Annabeth misses you, a lot." I could feel my cheeks burn red, and she smirked, turning and walking down the hall. She left me in the doorway, blushing and stunned.

Annabeth missed me? Really?

Wait, why did that make me so happy?

Oh gods Percy. Ew. No. She's Annabeth. You're Percy. Athena and Poseidon. She's amazing and you're...well...you. Ew. No. Stop thinking about her like that.

"So, Annabeth huh?" My mom came up behind me, causing me to jump. She laughed at my shocked face, and that caused me to blush even harder.

I silently cursed Ari's name. Why did she have to say that? Now she and my mom were practically besties, and they were probably working together to embarrass me as much as possible.

Little did I know, the connection between Ari and my mom was stronger than I ever thought possible.

 **Character of the Day- the Jackson's next door neighbor. Not sure who it is, but anybody who can live next to Percy has to be a saint.**

 **Please leave me a review. I would love you so much.**


	29. SEQUEL ALERT

NEW STORY ALERT!

Hey guys! It's me! It's me!

You will never believe what just happened- I wrote a few chapters for the sequel which will be posted later today. It will be posted under **_Never Underestimate a Half-Blood: the Sea of Monsters_**

I am so excited that I finally got around to this, and now I should be continuing with this story, hopefully all the way through to The Last Olympian!

Go check it out. Leave me a review if you're gonna go read it!


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